


Something Wicked This Way Comes

by Harmonyhhr



Series: 'Keeping' it Ghostly [7]
Category: Ghost (Swedish Band)
Genre: F/M, Old Gods, Papa has plans, Priest, Urban Fantasy, but they're not a band, plot heavy, there is smut now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-09-19 04:24:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 31,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9418634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harmonyhhr/pseuds/Harmonyhhr
Summary: Sometimes we make plans for our lives, and sometimes those plans don't quite work out the way we want them to. When Ellie Portland got herself mixed up with Ghost, she never imagined one day waking with the powers of a Ghoul. The Ghouls certainly didn't expect the return of their powers either, and not all are happy with Papa meddling once again. Ellie must decide if her new life truly suits her while battling her suspicions of the dark pope. Does Papa have an ulterior motive? Where is Omega? Who is Mist really, and just how is she linked with Air?





	1. This is no good ship name for Air/Mist

**Author's Note:**

> *taps mic* What's up, Ao3? How's everybody doin' tonight? It finally felt like the right time to continue Ellie's story, so here it begins again. I might not be able to update this weekly the way I did with Never a Dull Moment - there are far more plot bunnies to weave, connect, and suss out and I want to write slowly so I don't miss anything.
> 
> I do recommend being caught up on the rest of the series before reading on. This way you all can let me know if I miss something, or if I accidentally contradict myself. Now let's see what nonsense we can get in to this time, shall we?

_This is agony_  
_But it's still a thrill for me_  
_This could end in tragedy_

Air raised a hand to knock on the wooden door in front of him, an unaccustomed sense of hesitation marking his movements. He wasn’t entirely certain he wanted to “open this can of worms” as he’d heard it said, but they had danced around the subject of their past the entire time Mist had been with the band. He hadn't wanted to disrupt their harmony on stage but now it was time to take a break from touring, meaning he could finally speak freely.

It was a silly human way to refer to what they had been through, their _past_ , but it was the only expression brief enough for others to understand. Brevity was key when trying to put hundreds of thousands of years in to perspective. He hadn’t actually known Mist that long – scientists theorized Adam and Eve had lived around one hundred and fifty thousand years ago, and it was only after his success with tricking the pair that he was allowed to begin the slow process of evolving in to the skin he wore today. He barely remembered any of it thanks to all the times Lucifer melted away such memories, lest his longevity drive him to madness. His years with Mist had been a mere heartbeat in time for someone as old as he, but those moments were the ones he clung to when he forgot how to feel. 

Yes, it was time to talk.

Before his hand could follow through with his knock, the door swung open and a petite creature with shimmering white hair and violently blue eyes filled his vision. Even after three thousand years her beauty still stuck him speechless with wonder. It was annoying. 

"Don't look so surprised, Air darling. After being married to you for nearly two thousand years, I can still predict your movements." Her smile was wry. "Your thoughts were practically breaking down the door."

Mist stepped aside to allow him entrance to the room she had chosen in the Main House. Ellie called their plot of land "Ghoulville", a name that never failed to kick up the corner of his a mouth in an almost smile. She was amusing for a human, much like the others he chose to now spend his time with, though she was a nosy one. He had hoped Omega would sufficiently distract her but their relations had been strained in recent days. Air could sense something sinister on the horizon but deciphering what would have to wait.

He strode past her and stopped in the middle of the room, clasping his hands together behind his back. "I am glad you have not forgotten." He said, surveying the space in which he stood. Though the rooms in the house were furnished identically except for color choices, this one was slightly larger. It suited the woman he once called wife, as he remembered her preference for airy, bright spaces and sparkly trinkets. Those trinkets had covered every surface of the home they shared but he saw no trace of them here. 

"Destroyed."

He eyed her as she left the door open and crossed the room to lean against a dresser almost as tall as she. "You still link your mind with mine when your thoughts become too intense. I never brought it up because I know you aren't doing it consciously." This time her smile was brittle and did nothing to chase away the sorrow in her eyes, "My "trinkets" were destroyed that night. Everything was destroyed."

Not wanting to upset her, Air attempted to change the subject. "I will try to keep my mind my own from now on. I only came to ask of your plans during this period of rest. Will you stay here?"

He watched as Mist regained her composure. "I got the distinct impression from Lucifer that I'm to be guarded by you and your friends. He suspects the madness that overtakes Belial and the other Princes of Hell might affect me too." She was rumored to be Belial's daughter, after all. "I wish people would realize that's not how it works."

Air quietly sucked in a breath, held it. It was the closest she'd ever come to revealing her parentage and what she might be. He replied, "I do not wish you to think you are being caged. You seem to enjoy the work and you fit well with the others."

A tremor rocked her voice as she answered, proving he had not so successfully turned her thoughts to the present. "I can see why you're with them. I can see why you stay, pretending to be nothing more than a simple musician. They remind me so much...yes, the pain is almost worth it." 

The sadness he usually kept at bay settled in to his chest and squeezed his heart in a painful vise. "Had I been there..." He couldn't stop himself from beginning, but broke off when a vase on the dresser launched itself at his head. His supernatural reflexes were the only things that saved him from a bloody face and possibly a slight headache.

"Are you saying _you_ could have protected them had you been there? That I could not keep them safe myself?" Mist didn't shout the words at him as he figured she would. All her frustration must have been directed to the flying projectile. He felt the old flicker anger rising in his mind and wrestled with it instead of responding to her questions. Sometimes he forgot _he_ had more a right to be angry with her than she had with him. Had she simply told him of the deception they could have worked through it together, but she continued the charade and they both paid the highest price.

Mist's words vibrated with tense emotions after realizing he wouldn't respond. "Why did you think I had forgotten us? Do you truly think me so heartless?"

"A thousand years is considered a long time for someone as young as you. It is easier to forget the past when it hurts so much." 

"I could never forget!" Her words were heated but she paused, and then sighed with resignation. "Had you been there, you would have died as well."

Air waited until her eyes met his. He wanted her to see him as he spoke. "They were my children too. At least dying for them would have saved me a thousand years of grief. Perhaps if their mother had more steel in her spine, they might still be alive today."

He didn't flinch as Mist collapsed to the floor in a sobbing heap and left the room without another word. 

 

 


	2. Like sands through the hourglass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ellie's back in this chapter!   
> Sorry if anyone gets notices for this multiple times - Ao3 is messing up the formatting and I keep having to reload the chapter to get it right.

As I stared at my new reflection in the mirror I very nearly began to laugh. After everything I’d seen the past year, why *wouldn’t* I end up with the face of a supernatural predator? I waited for terror to infuse my veins but only amusement and emptiness washed across my senses. It was a good thing I'd left the Main House when I did or I would probably be catatonic on the floor, instead of mildly alarmed and curious as to just how far this makeover extended.

Though panic wasn’t rearing its ugly head quite yet, I did need an explanation for the change. I went back to my room, threw on a robe and unplugged my phone from the charger. Scrolling through the names, I found the one I wanted and hit the call icon.

It rang straight through to voicemail but I never expected to talk directly to my target. “Omega - I’m not sure if you’re out of your funk yet but I really need some help. I woke up this morning with the face of a Ghoul and you’re the only person I can think of to call.” That wasn’t the truth but he was currently the only person I wanted to call. “Please, just get back to me.”

Leaving had been the absolutely right move to make but it didn’t feel like it as I sat there trying to decide what to do next. Nothing sounded better than being back in the cabin, poking away on my laptop while Omega puttered around in the kitchen. Perhaps it was a crazy coincidence my nightmares started back up right as he began pulling away from me…or maybe I was in serious denial.

Being upset wouldn’t save me any time soon so I buried the hurt and got dressed. One of the guys should be able to help me find Papa and figure out what he’d gone and done now. I went to start my morning coffee and was startled by muted thumps and bangs coming from the living room, followed by furtive whispers and one very loud, “SHHH”.

“Good night and good luck, if they’re in my house…” I ranted under my breath and rounded the corner to the next room.

Sure enough, Alpha, Earth, and Water all stood with their backs to me, trying to pick up a lamp and some knick-knacks they must have knocked over as they snuck in. “How did I know it would be you three?” This time it was my turn to make them jump, even if it meant Earth dropping the lamp hard enough to break it.

“Sorry, Ellie!” Earth’s voice was muffled beneath his mask, a sight I wasn’t used to seeing. “But we had to show you –“ He whirled around and ripped off the mask, but stopped mid sentence as his eyes landed on my face. “Holy. Shit.”

The feeling was mutual. Alpha and Water had taken their masks off as well, and we proceeded to stare at one another in all our pointy-faced glory.

I was the first to break the silence. “I see Papa paid a visit to everyone last night.” I propped both hands on my hips. There were a thousand questions burning on my tongue but I wasn’t sure which would be the most beneficial to ask first. “Which demon are we indebted to this time?”

Earth and Water spoke at the same time.

"Demon?"

"Papa?"

Alpha cut them both off before they could start jabbering over one another. "El, Papa didn't do this. We're on break now and we haven't seen him in a few days. We usually don't when we're not touring, unless we're recording."

"Maybe he didn't do it so you could see him but he's the one behind this. He was here last night, sitting on my couch and talking about Omega." A ghost of apprehension slithered down my spine. "He put his hands to my head and practically set me on fire. Next thing I know, I'm waking up this morning with a different face and you three breaking in to my house."

The uneasy look the three shared was enough to kick my uncertainty up another couple of notches. Why wouldn't Papa tell them his was going to restore their Ghoul-hood? A better question - why wouldn't he tell me?!

Earth was the first to shake off his concern. "We didn't break in, thank you very much. We ported." He stroked the light scruff on his chin in a thoughtful gesture. "Actually, we poofed in. We don't have to port anymore." With that announcement came a demonstration, his body disappearing from the room with a small pop. Seconds later he reappeared and clapped his hands together the way a small child might when delighted by something new.

"And check this out!" His face wavered in front of us and went blurry before snapping back in place. His Ghoul features were gone, replaced by his normal human characteristics. "We're almost like Air now – we don’t have to wear the masks all the time!"

His joy was so infectious I was confused to see no smiles on the faces of Alpha and Water. In fact, they looked pretty pissed.

"You two are able to that as well?" Maybe the powers came out unevenly and Alpha and Water ended up with something dumb, like snail slime manipulation. Another thought hit me then. "Wait, wait, wait! Can I do it? Did Papa give me powers too?"

Alpha's shrug was unconcerned. "I don't see why not. Do you feel any different?"

I took a moment to scan my mind and body. "No." I said slowly. "What’s it supposed to be like?"

"For me it's a humming sensation. Not bothersome or anything but you know it's always present." I would have laughed at how almost poetic Earth sounded except the panic I wasn't sensing earlier was roaring in my ears. I didn't feel changed and couldn’t detect any sort of humming, buzzing, chainsaw growling, or wood-chipper-tearing-up-a-body noises that were supposed to announce a transformation.

My emotions must have bled on to my face because Water piped up next. "Just do what you do when you reach for the stuff you've already got. That might help."

I latched on to his vague words and immediately followed the thread that kept my own power tethered. It was more easily reached after I helped Papa kick a demon who was possessing me out of my brain, but as I poked and prodded I found no new branches where it would be holding other abilities. I didn't want to admit out loud how empty my head was.

"I can't find anything!" The beginnings of hysteria forced my voice a few octaves higher. "Is this some kind of awful joke? WHAT IF PAPA JUST MADE ME UGLY?!" Had I been a cartoon character my arms would have been flapping in an exaggerated manner, with sweat and tears flying around me in a watery cloud.

I couldn't live my life this way. I had a job and some semblance of a social life (when I felt like leaving the house).

Earth carefully held out his mask. "You can wear this if you want." His offer would have been sweet at any other time but I was too scared to get all gushy.

"Unless you guys are going to add me to the band and let me borrow that cowbell, I can't wear a mask all the time. Humans aren't supposed to know anything about the supernatural world! I'll be some kind of freak – worse than I already was!" My breathing quickened, causing my heart to thump furiously in my chest. "I'll be an outcast. Shit, Lucifer will put me under house arrest! He'll never let me out of HQ. I'm a threat to paranormal national security!"

As much as I wanted to keep ranting, it was becoming increasingly difficult. Several sudden sharp pricks on my lower lip left me tasting blood and my words become slurred.

I reached a hand up to my mouth, intent on finding what had caused the damage, only to find my normal fingernails had curved in to claws. They banged off of my teeth – no, they banged off of my fangs with a harsh clack. I stared helplessly at Earth, Water, and Alpha as both fangs and claws continued to lengthen, forcing their way over my bottom lip and curling in to the palms of my hands.

It seemed my Ghoul powers had arrived.


	3. Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know about you guys but I need it to be the 12th already, so we can see Ghost at the Grammys again. I'm still holding out hope Omega will be there to sass the interviewers. A gal can dream can't she?

I wanted to be relieved Papa hadn't hung me out to dry but my fangs and claws were growing at a rather alarming rate and my brain was too far gone in "freak-out" mode to even attempt to stop their progress. I backed away from the boys in horror, blood dripping down to the floor with increasing urgency as the fangs were now leaving several shallow grooves in my chin.

Water grabbed my shoulders in a far stronger grip than I expected from him and shook me forcefully. "Ellie! Snap out of it! You have to control yourself before you do some serious damage." But I couldn't. I didn't know how to control it and no one prepared me for this. I shook my head frantically, only managing to squeal and squeak like a dying mouse.

Alpha took over the situation then, bumping Water out of the way to grip my chin in one hand and slap me across the face with the other. It was lucky he held my face so firmly or he would have come pretty close to breaking my neck with a hit like that, proof he had grown accustomed to living without his power. The slap didn’t hurt much and by itself wouldn’t have de-escalated the situation but I noticed red smears across his hand as he pulled away. His palm had caught the sharp edges of my fangs and split his skin in several places, leaving his blood to mingle with mine on the usually spotless rug. Knowing I’d unintentionally contributed to his injury catapulted me back to reality and I felt my Ghoul attributes halt their expansion.

“Okay, that’s good.” Alpha stepped away. “The more you calm down the more likely everything will go back to normal on its own.”

I focused on remaining calm and made the mistake of looking up. Earth had his phone out and was very clearly taking pictures of the carnival sideshow state I was in. My teeth were still too long to speak coherently so I flapped my arms at him in an attempt to get him to stop, but it only set the three men standing in front of me off in to fits of laughter.

“Mmmyeuhh gnnnuysss rrrww assholes.” I flopped my tongue around, recovering the ability to talk as I became (mostly) human again. The taste of blood was heavy in my mouth so I turned my back on the still laughing Ghouls and returned to the kitchen to wash the blood away with water from the tap. A strong cup of coffee erased the lingering flavor of metal completely and after some hard bargaining with Earth to delete those embarrassing photos I poured he, Alpha, and Water each a cup as well. We sat at the breakfast table in silence, until Water decided to speak. “Well…what do we do now?” 

“Finish our coffee and talk to Papa.” Before, I had done my best to keep out of their business because I wasn’t a Ghoul or in the band, but now Papa had purposefully interfered with my life too and I didn’t feel so awkward about making a few demands. “Are you sure you don't know where he is?”

Earth answered for the group. “Negative. You’re probably the last person to see him since we ended the tour.” He glanced at Alpha and Water, chewing his lip as though he didn’t want to voice his next thought. “Unless…”

“Unless what?” I asked.

“Unless he visited Omega.”

I hadn’t considered that. “He didn’t answer the phone when I called him this morning. I assume none of you have heard from him either?”

“Nope. Air and Mist are back there now but they’re too wrapped up in their own melodrama at the moment.” Though I could tell he was trying, Alpha failed to sound unconcerned about his friends.

Draining the liquid from my cup, I slammed it down on the table with a harsh bang. “We’ll start there. I will _drag_ Omega up from that damn basement if I have to.”

I hurried in to the living room and grabbed the messenger bag full of my latest work research and wallet, throwing my cell in a side pocket. Half my stuff was still in Omega’s cabin so I didn’t have to worry about going naked while we hunted down Papa.

The Three Amigos poked their heads into the room as I was pulling the bag strap across my body.

“What’re you doing?” Water stared at me suspiciously.

“I should be able to port now, right? So I’m going.” I cleared my mind for what came next.

“In theory, Ellie. In theory you should be able to but you don’t know how your body will react the first time.” Alpha said. “Plus we don’t kn-“

But I had already been thinking about the Main House while he badgered me and was gone before I could hear the rest of his lecture.

There was a decent amount of pressure focused around my head but not unbearable, and I clenched my teeth tightly as my vision was painted black. Nothing indicated I was moving but before I could panic my feet touched familiar solid ground. I hadn’t landed directly inside the house but for my first try the back patio wasn’t a half bad location.

I started to make my way toward the door when a sharp tug shook my core. I struggled to get away from such a painful sensation but the invisible hook held fast and I toppled over backwards, unable to resist the power I couldn’t see. As if I’d been loaded into a slingshot I was suddenly airborne, flying over the house and across the lawn at breakneck speed toward the road that led into town just outside the property line. The second I cleared the trees that acted as a natural fence the tugging sensation disappeared and I dropped like a stone to the ground.

Something inside me cracked ominously as I fell heavily on to the gravel path and air evaporated from my lungs almost instantly. Like an ungainly overturned turtle, I rolled around on my back in agony for a few minutes until Earth pushed his way through the trees and stood over me.

“Alpha was trying to tell you he didn’t think you could port in. You know, because of the wards?” He glared down at me, making no move to help. “The wards you spent months learning about and living under? The wards you know have to be coded with our auras to allow us to pass?”

I couldn’t reach his face so I did the next best thing: I punched his boney little kneecap with all my might.

He didn’t go down but I managed wrangle a satisfying yelp of pain from him. Wheezing out a laugh, I found droplets of blood spraying through the air as I exhaled.

Earth cautiously made his way back to my side and bent, rolling me over so I could almost sit up.

“Looks like you punctured a lung.” He said. “Give it a few and you should start to feel the healing. Keep spitting the blood out though – I don’t want you to drown…yet.”

He truly was a little shit.

He was also right. After another moment passed I could breathe freely again and blood was no longer clogging my throat. Blech. If I kept bleeding this much I’d have to start carrying Tic-Tacs everywhere.

Getting to my feet, I spat a few more times on the ground and wiped my lips with my sleeve. “At least I know for sure I’m really a Ghoul.” Earth chuckled and we headed through the trees. My aura was recognized by the wards, but only if I came on foot or with someone who could port. Now that I could do it on my own, it would have to be added to my "key" so I could pass freely. 

We entered through the front and I was immediately overwhelmed by a sense of...doom. If anyone else had described it to me I would have laughed in their face and given them contact info for mental health specialists, but the house's energy was practically vibrating with despair, and dread. It felt like a more intense version of what had affected me before I fled for home and for this I did feel a bit of relief, as sick as it was. It meant I wasn’t crazy for not being able to stand staying here anymore. I was hoping it also meant Omega didn’t start ignoring me because he was merely afraid to end our relationship to my face. 

Pushing roughly past Earth, I opened the door leading downstairs and flipped the light switch on the wall. The stairwell and room beyond lit up with no hesitation and I made my way down to the room I had studiously avoided for a month. 

It was empty.

Instruments lined the wall in a tidy row and the couch looked as inviting as ever. I checked the recording booth where Omega had been spending all his free time but even that space was spotless. Subconsciously I knew the house was making me paranoid, but it seemed as if no one had been here in years. 


	4. A wild Papa appears

“ _What the hell is wrong with this godforsaken house?_ ” I shouted at the empty room. I can’t say I was proud of reacting in such a childish manner, especially when the ground beneath my feet shook in response and the couch slid across the floor to partially bury itself in the wall.

“So far you make a really lousy Ghoul.” Mist said as she came down the stairs, clearly amused by my lack of control.

I hadn’t seen her since the night we faced Belial at the ruins. It was disconcerting to find her looking so ordinary in a worn pair of jeans and Ghost hoodie, feet bare and stunning white hair pulled back in a simple ponytail. As tiny as she was, she scared the shit out of me. I’d witnessed the barely leashed flames dancing up her arms as she radiated pure malevolence at her father (though I hadn’t realized it was meant for him at the time) and I never wanted to be on the wrong side of that look. I didn’t need confirmation to know killing came easily to her and she was no stranger to the act.

My self-preservation instinct failed miserably at that moment when I replied rather snarkily, “I did it on purpose – it's the one place in the house lacking artwork.”

I winced immediately after the words left my mouth, because antagonizing the demon lady was a *wonderful* idea. Mist had been sort of…nice to me, though. I called her once a few months prior to ask for sexy dress advice and she hadn’t eaten me through the phone, one of the few checkmarks in my “win” column of life.

I felt like adding another checkmark when a corner of her mouth kicked upwards in a small smile. Glancing back to the new couch sculpture, she remarked, “Ah, that’s clever of you. Air said you were funny.”

“He did? I’m…well…uh, did he mean it as a compliment? I asked her incredulously. It was Air after all.

Her answering laughter was warm and she glanced toward the top of the stairs, as if she expected our conversation to conjure him up. “He says you’re very enthusiastic about showing him popular culture. He’s always been fascinated by humans.”

“Um, well somebody has to teach him about The Golden Girls.” Shifting awkwardly, I decided to plow ahead with sticking my foot in my mouth. “You two, you’ve known each other for a long time huh?”

“You could say that.” There was a finality in her tone telling me my choice of topic wasn’t one she wanted to discuss. Okay, Plan B.

“Alpha says you’ve only been on break for a few days but I was wondering, did you see Omega at all? Before he left?"

Mist shook her head. “The studio was dark when I arrived. You might ask Air; he came down here at some point to check on your Omega. He didn’t tell me if they spoke.”

It felt like she was giving me an out and I couldn’t help but be grateful to her. “I’ll go find him now. Best to solve this mystery before it gets blown out of proportion.” I headed back upstairs, with her following closely on my heels and once we reached the top she closed the door behind us.

“There are my two favorite ladies!”

We discovered Papa surrounded by Ghouls in the living area, looking as dapper and pompous as ever. He crossed the short distance between us and took my face between his hands, turning my head slightly as if to admire his handiwork.

“I am pleased to see the transformation went through without issue. You look ravishing as a Ghoul, my dear.”

Sweet talker.

I took one of his hands between my own and squeezed, imitating one of his favorite gestures. “Lying won’t get you out of hot water on this one, Papa.” I squeezed his fingers a bit harder than necessary. “I think you have some explaining to do.” Over his shoulder I could see Alpha and Water nodding in agreement.

Papa wrestled his hand away from mine with a grunt but managed to maintain his enthusiasm. “Explain? What is there to explain?”

“Don’t play dumb, Papa.” Alpha chimed in, sounding angrier than I’d ever heard him. “We need to know the rules of whatever new deal you brokered on “our behalf”.

To his credit, Papa had the grace to seem taken aback by Alpha’s attitude. A bit of his smugness faded away as he shifted away from me to stare at his companions. “There are no rules, Alpha. Why would you assume there would be restrictions?” The vexation in his tone felt real.

Alpha, Water and I all flung a hand up in the air at the same time in response, but it was Water who vocalized our feelings. “Have you forgotten Belial? We had to make a pact with him in the middle of a forest and then found out later you’d sold him your power!”

Papa chuckled and waved a hand dismissively. “So that is what has you worried! If I recall correctly, I explained it to you after Lucifer and I resurrected everyone but perhaps the details did not stick. My deal with Belial was a ruse, so he would not suspect me of betrayal.” He walked over to Water and Alpha, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. “Lucifer and I had not expected Belial to involve you so thoroughly when we began staging his capture. Fact of the matter is, I did not need Belial to turn you in to Ghouls. It is a power I still retain as Fallen – one made stronger thanks to the combined abilities of Papa I and Papa II I control.”

Earth spoke up next, hope making his face twist with eagerness. “Does this mean we can keep our powers? We really won’t owe anyone?”

“Of course not!” Papa clapped his hands together. “Think of it as my gift to you, to make up for the torment you suffered.”

I began to ask him why he chose me for his gift-giving endeavor when Alpha simply exploded.

“That’s just peachy, Papa. You omit half the story once under the guise of protecting us and now you’re deciding what we need again, only this time because you consider it a present.” He shook Papa’s hand from his shoulder and stood eye to eye with the singer. “You’re always making decisions for us! Do you even realize you’re doing it anymore? You ran off Old Earth and Water when you took over for Papa II; you didn’t ask if we wanted to tour for Popestar; you didn’t ask if we wanted to go back to America with Iron Maiden; and you didn’t ask if we wanted to be Ghouls again.”

Furious Alpha was a sight to behold. He’d always acted so playful and foolish I hadn’t thought him capable of having such violent emotions. Judging by the astonishment on Papa’s face, he hadn’t thought so either.

Alpha began pacing as he continued to rant. “You know, it’s no wonder Omega left. If any of us had half a brain, we would have gone with him. Maybe then you might have seen how insanely controlling you are.” He pointed to Water. “Do you know we don’t want these stupid powers?”

His words hung heavily in the air.

Papa sat down on the coffee table with a thump. “I…I only wanted to help.” He looked completely bewildered and I felt a pang of sympathy for him. Alpha had a point, that Papa usually did as he pleased with no regard to others, but so far he had never done it out of malice. I had seen firsthand the event used to justify their transformation in to Ghouls and it did make sense for Papa to believe Alpha was still as frightened of the world as he had been after the Wendigo attack.

Alpha and Water were unyielding, however. “It doesn’t matter now, does it? We’re stuck this way.” Water crossed his arms over his chest. “I had a real chance at a normal life, with a normal girlfriend I could actually show my face to. I never expected this gig to last forever but now you’ve made it so I can’t ever leave!”

Papa reared back as though Water had slapped him. “You want to leave?” He sounded so un-Papa right then. The Fallen I knew was always self-assured and regal, if a bit silly on occasion. Now he looked like a normal man facing human complications, such as being rejected by his friends.

“Well, no. Or not yet at least. Look, you guys have changed members since Era I and I didn’t assume I would be here for very long. And – and maybe I have dreams of my own I want to follow. It’ll be impossible to do that now, since I’m back to being a freak.” Water kicked the floor with the toe of his shoe.

“What about you, Earth?” Papa stared up at the drummer as he spoke.

Earth fidgeted for a moment and then came to stand next to me. “I don’t have problem with it. I…missed my powers. Don’t get me wrong – I agree with Alpha and Water when they say you don’t bother to consult us on important stuff and you probably should have asked about this, but I want my powers to stay.”

Papa turned to me. “Ellie?”

Good question, Papa. “Ehhhhh. I don’t. Um. I suppose I don’t know.” I shrugged helplessly. “It’s so unexpected!”

Alpha waggled his finger at me. “Don’t lie, Ellie. You were losing your shit not two hours ago, saying your life was ruined.”

“I know what I said,” I barked, scowling back at him, “and I’d appreciate you not answering for me.”

My eyes met Papa’s and I continued. “The truth is, I’m not sure what I feel. Everyone else here had time to live with the changes and understand the consequences. Sure, I have a moderately impressive mind control ability but it doesn’t affect my day to day life. This is completely different.”

I paused. “I can’t help but wonder why you included me in this.”

“I wanted you all to be safe.” With that, Papa moved up from the coffee table and presented us with his back as he strode over to the window. “With the absorption of the other two Fallen, I gained their emotions as well. I hold an extraordinary amount of love for this band and its members. I care for you as well, Ellie. Your relationships with Lucifer and Omega make you very dear to me.”

Papa turned to face us. “It is why I gave you stronger powers this time. I realized if I were not around to help you, another Belial situation might arise and I could lose you permanently.”

He gave a resigned sigh. “If it is freedom from my gift you seek, then I know a way to give it to you. But it will not be easy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll have to pardon my little reference to the nonsensical rumor floating around the Ghost fandom these days. It was always the plan to have Alpha and Water protest Papa's meddling ways but this bit of real life drama came at the perfect moment to be useful.  
> (If it is true I'll probably cry in a corner for a day but if we can survive Omega leaving, we can survive anything else they throw at us. I still think it's all for show)


	5. Another chapter where they stand around talking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize this fic is more informational rather than action-oriented. I hope no one minds - I am trying not to end the chapters on a cliff hanger/bombshell revelation like I did before. It's actually kinda hard haha  
> Also, I'm throwing caution to the wind and throwing everyone in this story. You'll see what I mean ;) or just check the updated tags! 
> 
> I'm thinking next chapter I might reveal Mist and Air's entire story....

“Now there’s a shocker.”

“Alpha!” Though I scolded him out loud, on the inside I couldn’t help but agree a little. There always seemed to be some kind catch behind everything Papa did.

Fortunately Water intervened before Alpha could become even more argumentative. “What do we have to do, Papa?”

Some of his stage personality must have flooded his system because Papa began pacing around the room, speaking to us as though we were just another Friday night audience.

“Ah. There, you see, lies the tricky part. You already know when Angels fall, a large portion of their powers are stripped. The knowledge taken from them is then placed in a text and hidden somewhere on Earth.” He paused to pat Earth’s slender shoulder before continuing his winding route around us. “Much to my dismay, I did not retain both parts of this spell and the solution was placed in my book. I did not believe I would ever need the solution, to be frank.” Annoyance now replaced the sorrow he displayed earlier.

“That’s it?” Alpha asked skeptically. “All we need to do is find this book?”

Papa gave a little laugh. “Heh. Well, not exactly. Even if the Fallen gets their hands on their book, they will not be able to read it. It is meant to be a fail-safe. The text is difficult enough to locate, let alone finding someone capable of translating the rest of the spell.”

Mist and Air had been leaning against the wall behind us (keeping out of this new business since it ultimately left them unaffected) but from the corner of my eye I happened to notice a change in Mist as Papa finished his explanation. Though her face remained impassive, she stood a little straighter and when Papa mentioned translating the spell her right hand shot up from her side to grip Air’s forearm. The look on his face was truly priceless, forcing me to turn my attention back to Papa so I wouldn’t laugh as he attempted to shake off his surprise in favor of his usual stoicism.

By that time Alpha had worked himself up into another state of distress. “This is perfect. Just fucking perfect. And let me guess – you have no idea where to tell us to start looking for the book or the translator. How convenient for you.”

Today was definitely _the day_ for interesting facial expressions, as Papa appeared to be struggling with an urge to slap his unruly Ghoul senseless. “No. Alpha.” The words were pushed out through clenched teeth. “I know of just the man to help you begin your journey. He…brokers information.”

“Why haven’t you gone to him for help, to find your book?” Earth inquired. He had been so quiet I had almost forgotten he was still standing next to me.

A sneer settled on Papa's face up hearing Earth's question. “The Fallen are not permitted to actively search for the other half of their powers. If they get close, the book is moved to another secure location. Also, because he will not speak to me.”

Air’s deep voice rumbled from behind me. “Emeritus, you cannot be thinking of sending them to Niels.”

“He is the only one I believe who would be able to give them a starting point so yes, I am sending them to Niels.” Papa grimaced and mimicked spitting on the ground. “The devil’s bastard that he is.”

I stopped Papa before he could give us details on his mystery broker. “Wait a second. If Fallen can’t search for their power, how are we going succeed? We’re connected to you.”

“Technically we are not allowed to use proxies. This situation is highly unusual, however.” The Dark Pope smirked with unbidden satisfaction. “You are looking for the book on your own, because you need it. The spell which you seek will not benefit me in any way and I am not inclined to assist you because of this. It should be the loophole you need.”

What a mess. Papa was gambling with the Ghouls futures again, and mine as well this time. There was one more piece of the puzzle I needed to find. “Papa? Did you turn Omega back into a Ghoul too?”

His flashed a wistful smile. “Yes I did, but I cannot tell you where he might be at the moment. Somehow he has managed to block my mind from his still.”

We stared at each other awkwardly until Water cleared his throat. “I want to do it. I want to meet with this Niels guy and find out what we need to do to at least find the book. We’ll worry about reading it later.”

“I agree. We’ll do it together, one step at a time.” Having calmed down, Alpha was now able to speak without his voice changing pitch. 

“I’ll help.” Earth told the both of them. “I mean, does the spell take everyone’s power away or can it be cast individually?”

If Papa was upset two of his Ghouls were rejecting his gift he didn’t show it. “It can be cast individually, Earth. You will not need to sacrifice your own power to appease your brothers.”

It seemed someone was rather salty about the turn of events after all.

“I’ll help too.” I added. “I don’t know if I want to keep my powers, but I can figure that out along the way. Plus, we need to find Omega.”

Alpha shared one of his knowing looks with Earth and Water before turning to me. “Are you sure? I mean, uh, are you positive you’re up for something…like…this?”

Perhaps Papa should have smacked him around earlier. “Yes I’m quite sure. I do have some training, you know. I’m not completely useless.”

_“No, but you’re damn close. Actually you’re all fairly useless.”_

I nearly wet my pants when a new voice added itself to the mix. Everyone snapped to attention trying to find our elusive guest; even Papa seemed taken off guard by the disembodied voice.

Lucifer stepped out from the shadows of a doorway and gave a cheeky little wave. “And you should seriously get a lock for the portal door.”

“Jam-“ I began to use the name I’d always known him by, James, but remembered I only had to do that when we were at work. Lucifer didn’t want others to know who he was, making me his only employee in the loop. It made me feel special and like a target for a hit-man at the same time; it could have gone either way at that point. “Er, oh screw it. What are you doing here?”

Lucifer chuckled. “Let’s just say I felt a disturbance in the force. It is rather fortuitous I showed up in time to stop this suicide mission.”

“Suicide mission? How so?” Papa and Lucifer had always appeared to be friends of a sort, but Papa’s tone had taken on a darker tone when addressing the Prince of Hell. He obviously did not take a shine to what Lucifer was implying.

“Come on, Emeritus. You’re sending them to Niels. You know he doesn’t give information away for free. Whatever he asks them to do will be far above their pay grade.”

Papa brushed past myself and the Ghouls to stand directly in front of Lucifer. The differences in their height would have been comedy gold in any other situation, with nearly two feet separating them. Papa was doing his best (and failing miserably) not to stand on his tiptoes as he responded to the larger man. “Are you suggesting I care not for my Ghouls?”

Lucifer stared down at his old “friend”, his face serious. “I’m suggesting your pretty speech earlier is only poignant to those who don’t understand what you’re telling them do.”

While Papa might look like a bug to be squashed next to my mountain man boss, the amount of power he was drawing around himself was setting my teeth on edge. The last thing we needed was to witness a battle of the immortal variety.

In a highly stupid move to relieve tension, I attempted to snag Lucifer’s attention. “Should we not try to find the book then? Lucifer?”

Ugh. Saying his real name felt weird on my tongue.

He didn’t break eye contact with Papa but succeeded in answering my question anyways. “That would be your best course of action. Accept the changes to yourselves and move on because if you open this door you might not come back alive.” Magic swirled invisibly across our bodies in one great surge and began to dissipate. “Then again, with some cursory training you could possibly keep most of your limbs and complete the task Niels will unquestionably set for you.”

“What about the book?” I sincerely hoped Water knew what he was doing by butting into the conversation. I never imagined Lucifer would hurt the guys but he wasn’t exactly sweet on them either. He told me as much when I was moping around work those few months I thought they were dead.

“It’s a fools errand.” My boss didn’t seem offended by Water’s existence so I let out the breath I had been holding. “No Fallen has ever found their book of power and I highly doubt this so-called loophole will work. Angels are all about the rules.”

Concern was evident on the faces of everyone in the room. If Hell's Favored Son thought the risk too great then maybe it was. Did we truly stand a chance against unknown dangers?

“I’m sorry, uh, sir. You might be right but we have to see this through.” Amazingly Alpha did not sound like a spoiled child as he said his piece. The others nodded in support and Lucifer eventually broke eye contact with Papa to rub his fingers along his temples.

“Somehow I knew that would be your answer. Ellie, if I could have a moment please?”

I inclined my head in acknowledgement and led the way through the dining room to the kitchen.   

* * *

“Which riot act are you going to read me this time?” I plopped down on one of the bar stools.

Lucifer crossed his arms and frowned. “Now is not the time to get flippant. You have no idea what you’re volunteering for.”

“I think I do. I only watched every one of them die in front of my face. I only almost died myself –“

“Which should have been a wake up call, Ellie!” He threw up his hands in exasperation. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you. This band has some kind of hold over you and I can’t figure out how to break it.”

I rolled my eyes at him. "Okay Dad. Why don’t you get the lecture over with and ground me already.”

“Well, somebody has to be the voice of reason in your life. Ever since these clowns showed up you’ve been distracted and reckless.”

“Might I remind you _once again_ that you sent me to them?! They’re my friends and I like being with them. If it’s Papa your worried about, he’s barely around.”

“But he’s going to be! Now that he gave you this insane mission he won’t let any of you be until you do what he wants. Damn it, you arrogant, pigheaded – human!" Frustration ate at his movements as shifted to glare at nothing out one of the windows.  "If I had half a brain I’d fire you.”

I scoffed openly at his assertion. “Oh please. You wouldn’t dare – I know too much.”

Never had I regretted saying something so quickly. I’d slipped back into our old, comfortable way of speaking to one another, where idle threats would be met with humor. This was different. I’d just accidentally threatened to “out” Lucifer, Hell’s Crown Prince.

I jumped away from the stool and placed a hand on his very tense back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that, you know I didn’t. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” I groaned. “Gods but this was so much easier when you were just James, my boss and friend. I don’t even know what to call you anymore.”

He still hadn’t turned around, so I kept going. “And I’m a bit insulted you believe I haven’t thought this through. I don’t trust Papa 100%! I’m not a total idiot. The Ghouls don’t trust him as much anymore either, not since they realized he has been lying to them. Why do you think Omega left?” My breath caught as I said the missing Ghouls' name. “Like it or not, I’m connected to these people. I want to help them, and I wasn’t lying when I said I’m unsure of what I should do. Let us do the training. We might surprise you.”

Lucifer didn’t show any indication he heard me but his muscles had loosened beneath my palm. I took that to mean he wasn’t going to blast me through the wall, though I wasn’t convinced I made my case about the Ghouls. I drew my hand back and began shuffling toward the door.

“You know he’s going to take the book the moment you find it, right?” His voice was harsh. I wasn’t sure if I found it to be this way because he did it himself, or because it was harsh hearing someone else confirm my own suspicions. 

“I figure that’s how it will play out. You’ve trained me in the art of cynicism very well, Boss.”

“Good. Tomorrow you’ll begin your training in the art of killing. You and the Ghouls are to meet your trainer here on the grounds at 6am. Make sure you all get plenty of rest; Sister Imperator is no pushover.”


	6. "My whole world turns Misty blue", or the longest fucking chapter I have ever written

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you all listened to "The Pit" yet, from Priest? Go do it. Now. Dooooo it. What about "Sway" from Magna Carta Cartel? DO IT. At first I was really broken up over all this salty drama going down between our boys, but if we keep getting kickass music I might not be so sad. Plus we get to see Omega's babelicious unmasked face now. HOT DAMN.

**"** Ah shit."

It was a knee-jerk response to Lucifer mentioning Sister Imperator. I was lucky enough to never have training with her but I'd heard the horror stories from my fellow Keepers. She was an ex-nun who joined the organization after a demon tried to burn her church down. According to the rumors floating around HQ she turned the demon's hellfire back on its master, a stunning way to realize a bunch of nasties from the Bible were still skulking around the fringes of society.

Damn, but I did not want to have to suffer at the hands of that woman. She had to have been stone cold mean even before she battled a minion of Hell; I did not believe a demon could possibly make her as angry as she came across now. "She's gonna kill us, you know." 

"If you can't tame Imperator, then maybe you'll change your minds about this pigheaded endeavor." Lucifer glared at me but I ignored it. I had bigger fish to fry.

"One more thing." If anyone would know the answer to my next question, it was him. "Omega. He's disappeared and I need to find him."

Lucifer rolled his eyes. "He's fine, El. He contacted me yesterday, and before you ask no I won't tell you what about. I told him to speak to you directly when he is comfortable sharing. I suppose if you're going to date one of _them_ , Omega is the most level-headed of the bunch."

"We're not dating. We're...well, I don't know exactly what we're doing but if you hear from him I hope you'll tell him to at least call me. Everyone else is worried too." Lucifer nodded and left me in the kitchen, leaving me more curious than ever.

* * *

I sat on the couch in Omega's cabin, staring at the fireplace as if it held all the knowledge I needed. It was weird being here sans the owner. I was thrilled to know he was fine, but I simply could not imagine what would send him so far from his home and friends. I told the others what Lucifer said as soon as he left, and when Air could offer no other clues to our absent Ghoul’s whereabouts, I walked myself down to his place.

Though it wasn’t very late, I was already leaning toward going to bed. I wanted to be as sharp as possible so I could withstand the Sister’s verbal and physical assaults. Sour old bat. As I was working up the energy to move to the bedroom, a knock sounded from the front of the house. I peered through window next to the door and spied Earth and Water fidgeting on the porch.

“Hey guys. What’s up?” I asked as I opened the door and moved back to let them in.

Strangely enough they appeared to be nervous. Earth shuffled inside and slumped in to a chair while Water stood with his hands in his pockets, looking anywhere but at me.

I sat down across from Earth and watched them for a minute before I couldn’t take the suspense any longer. “Let me guess – this is about Papa?”

Their heads whipped around so quickly I was surprised they didn’t give themselves whiplash. The pair must really have thought they were the only two having trouble digesting Papa’s story.

“Papa…and Alpha.” Earth picked at a knot in the wooden surface of the table, gaze averted once again.

“Alpha? Why are you worried about Alpha?” His outburst was a little unseemly but nothing unexpected from the Ghoul representing fire.

Water took a seat next to us and laid his head down on his arms. “You heard him. He was so angry about Old Water and Earth. He said Papa ran them off when he took over. Do you think he h-hates us?”

He and Earth glanced at one another and then turned their big, sad eyes on me.

“Oh guys. Of course he doesn’t! I think he was upset because Papa didn’t ask him, Omega, or Air their opinion before he made changes. You know how many people they went through during Era 1. I imagine changing musicians again was a daunting task – I don’t reckon you can find just anyone who can play in a mask.”

They were shaking their heads in agreement now.

“But,” I pressed on, “both of you must be a dream to work with. You gave up everything else you were working on to go on tour.” I pointed to Water. “Not to mention you filled in for both Alpha and Omega those times when they couldn’t play, and you’ve been doing a wonderful job as the new Aether. No, I think Alpha is mad like Omega was. Papa tends to do what he wants without considering the consequences.”

“That’s the other thing, Ellie,” Earth added. “How can we be sure about trusting Papa anymore? He’s lied so many times I’m not sure we should listen to him now.”

Water was scowling at his friend. “I don’t think-,“ He began, but I stopped him. “Earth, I’m sure Water here doesn’t want to keep these abilities any longer than he has to.” I cupped my hand around my mouth, as if telling them a secret. “I don’t trust Papa very much either. As long as we don’t walk in to this thing blindly, I think we’ll be okay. We’ll utilize Lucifer and his connections to make sure every step we take is as safe as we can. If we start taking too much heat, we’ll back out immediately. Does that sound like a plan?”

I fed the boys some cookies and pushed them out the door after an hour of reassuring them we weren’t taking unnecessary risks. Now it was time for bed.

Standing at the sink brushing my teeth not ten minutes later, I heard the front door bang open. I hustled out to the living room and found Alpha pacing in front of the couch, muttering under his breath.

“Alpha – what the hell?” He’d left the door swinging in the breeze and was acting like a bull about to make his first kill.

“Papa!” He shouted, “Papa, Papa, Papa! Ever since that feathered fucker fell from the sky it’s been all about him. He took over everything! And now look what he’s done. How much more can we take? He’s already alienated Omega. It’s getting out of control.”

“Man, you have to stop with the “Papa chased away the other band members” bullshit.” I whined as I flopped face first down on to the couch. “You’re giving Earth and Water a complex.”

“How do you mean?” He kept pacing but at least he’d stopped hollaring.

“You were freaking out so hard about Old Water and Earth it made current Water and Earth think you don’t like them. It’s all very high school _and will you stop pacing?!_ You’re making me dizzy.” It was foolish of me not to specify a place for him to sit because a second later there was a very heavy pressure on my lower legs, as if someone was sticking his bony butt on them.

“Alpha, boy I know that’s not your ass wiggling around on my legs.” My dangerous tone must not have bothered him overly much because a bony elbow rammed itself into the fleshy part of my own butt. Twisting around, I discovered him gazing forlornly at the ceiling, the side of head resting on his propped up arm. “As you can see, Omega has purchased several chairs for his home – any of which are at your disposal.”

He sighed dramatically before responding, “Now I know why you and he are perfect together: you’re a big ol’ fuddy duddy too.”

Gritting my teeth, I hooked an arm over the back of the couch and wrenched the lower half of my body to the left, dumping Alpha to the floor below.

“All right!” He yelled, “I’ll apologize to the others in the morning!” I laughed and maneuvered around so I could sit up properly.

“You should. They’re rather remarkable men, putting up with all your freaky Fallen Angel drama.” I poked him in the back of the head until he turned to look at me. “And I’ll tell you the same thing I told them about Papa: none of us trust him. We’re not going to let him run the entire show this time and we have Lucifer at our back to help. Let’s just get through our training, okay? Now get out because it’s after eleven and I want to sleep.” I didn’t wait to watch him go but I heard the door shut as I burrowed under the covers on the bed.

Sleep claimed me quickly but not for very long as a horrific banging shook the walls around me. Someone was at the damn door again. 

I threw the door open rather forcefully as the pounding refused to cease, screeching, “What do you sons a bitches all want now?!”

Mist stood on the porch, swaying ever so slightly on her feet and carrying a half empty bottle of what looked like tequila. She attempted a very clumsy curtsy and then shouldered past me like I wasn’t even there. “C’mon Stretch. Close your mouth and shut the door. We have things to discuss.” She wobbled around the kitchen, opening cabinet doors and making noises of disgust when she didn’t find what she wanted.

After a moment of disbelief, I did what she asked and shut the door. “Not that I mind you showing up at almost midnight, but what do we have to discuss? And why me?”

She had moved on at this point from the cabinets to the fridge and “a-ha’d” loudly when she found beer sitting on the shelf. Walking back to where I stood, she thrust the bottles into my hands. “Air’s upset with me or else I wouldn’t be here.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her brutal honesty. “Gee, I’m so flattered.”

She waved off my comment and continued, “We have to talk about Papa and this book.” We parked ourselves at the table. 

I cracked open a beer and took a long swig for courage. “Okay but first you have to tell me why Air is mad at you. Is that why you’re so drunk?”

Setting her shoulders defiantly, Mist explained,“He’s mad because I killed our children. I’m drunk because I would never be able to talk about it otherwise, and you’re going to get nosy and ask questions.”

She was making me feel more special by the minute. When she was sober I was going to have to talk to her about how not nice it is to go to someone’s house in the middle of the night and confess to murder.

“What?! Children? When did you have children?” I chugged more of the beer, wishing for something a hell of a lot stronger.

Propping her head on her hands she stared at me but I could tell she was far away in her own mind. I wouldn’t have believed her tipsy if not for the unsteadiness and willingness to speak about Air.

“We were married.” She halted, then grabbed her tequila bottle and drank the rest of the contents in one very impressive display of what alcohol poisoning must look like in normal people. “Actually,” she said, wiping her chin with the back of her hand, “we were bonded. The idea of a Snake Man and a Demon's Daughter calling each other 'husband' and 'wife' was laughable, even back then."

Mist hadn’t even gotten to the story and I was already leaning halfway across the table in anticipation. My first beer efficiently drained, I popped open another one.

“Air was the favored pet of all the Princes. They used him to do their bidding and because he was so efficient, they often fought over him. Belial thought to end the fighting by bonding him to me. I was viewed as Belial’s property and through association he would have a better claim on Air’s time.”

She paused again to nab a beer and slam another one in front of me. The lids flew off of their own accord with just a flick of her wrist and a small surge of power. Apparently I would be double fisting my liquor this night. 

“The other Princes would have never allowed Belial to bond us outright, so he told me I had to be sneaky about it. He began placing me “accidentally on purpose” in Air’s path, or sent me along with him on Belial’s errands. It worked too. Air was so used to be treated as if he were nothing it was only natural he fall for the one person who treated him as something other than a slave.” She must have been able to see some of the horror I was feeling. “You think I’m a monster, I know. It was a monstrous thing to do. I didn’t have a choice in the matter though. Just as Air was tied to *all* of Hell’s Children, I was chained to Belial.”

“Air and I went before the others and demanded they let us be together. Not all of them are as unreasonable as you might believe, and they granted our request. You’d think the Princes would be far more argumentative but they’re just as rule-bound as Angels half the time. I held a bit of sway with them because I was considered Belial’s daughter. It wasn’t much but it was enough to carry out the plan.”

I couldn’t help but interrupt, “Weren’t you upset you were force-bonded to someone?”

Mist shook her head no. “For the first couple hundred years of our bonding Air and I barely saw one another. I thought for certain it would have dampened his love for me but every time he came home…I don’t know, it was as if I made the sun shine for him. He treated me like no one ever had, like I was special. I guess it was the same way I made him feel, and after a while it wasn’t so hard faking the affection. Neither of us wanted the lives we had lead but with each other, it was almost as if we truly could be happy.”

“I had to be careful about showing too much emotion for Air with Belial. My feelings were not a part of the plan and I was terrified of what he might do to Air. I hated being away from Air for so long but those periods when he was gone made me feel more in control. As long as we were kept apart, I could make my over-affection seem like an act to keep him interested. That is, until the madness came for Belial.”

The Princes of Hell were prone to bouts of madness, the price of immortality. No one could hold so many memories without losing their shit sometimes. The madness caused Belial’s little rampage the last time we met; it was something Lucifer and his brothers tried to lock down beforehand but Belial had gone to ground to keep them off his trail. Papa Emeritus had been in on the intervention but keeping the Ghouls out of the loop resulted in their deaths and a lot of broken bones for me. Thankfully, the combination of Lucifer and Papa’s powers was enough to bring them back.

I forced myself back to the present as Mist told more of her story. “After Lucifer and the others locked him away, Air came home to stay. We had no idea how long Belial would be gone and I knew I wouldn’t be able to stave off those strong emotions with him in such close proximity.” She looked at me as though she were confessing a terrible secret, one she never meant to spill. “I gave in.” It came out as whisper. “Every part of my life had been so meticulously planned out – Air’s too – and then suddenly there we were with no one telling us what to do. I could have revealed everything, just told him about the plot, kicked him to the curb and went on my way to figure out what I wanted. But…but I wanted him. I wanted to find a path _with_ him. So I kept it all hidden and let myself forget about the past.”

The anger I felt at her underhanded game gave way to some hideously mushy emotion I couldn’t name. The tears pricking my eyes probably came from too much alcohol in such a short span of time but they felt appropriate. The look on Mist’s face was beautiful and spoke volumes about her feelings for Air.

I waved the last of my beer in her face. “What happened next?”

She openly grinned as she remembered. “Oh it was magic. We had our own place and did whatever we pleased. Traveling and learning were all we wanted to do for a while. Sometimes we would spend days upon days at the beach; there weren’t any resorts to stay in all those years ago, so we had to build our own shelter and find our own food. I still haven’t found anything more fun than those nights we spent getting sand in every crevice.” She waggled her eyebrows and winked, just in case her message wasn’t clear. “We watched so many civilizations rise and fall. You aren’t the first technologically advanced society, did you know that? There have been many others. There was always so much to do and see." 

Hazily I realized this was the first time I had seen her show any kind of emotion.

“We had just returned from one of our adventures and were settling back in to, I don’t know, normal life? That’s when I found out I was pregnant. It was not something either of us had given much thought, considering Air and I are not even the same species. I admit I panicked quite a lot those first few weeks of knowing, imagining birthing scaly winged creatures who could hurl fireballs at our heads. When I confided this fear to Air you should have seen him laugh.” Sadness began creeping into her eyes. “He used to tell the boys, “Your mother thought you were going to be little snakes!” And then he would get them to wriggle all over the floor. It was t-the cutest s-sight you could possibly imagine.” Her voice began to crack.

“How many did you have?” I asked gently.

“Four. Four perfect boys.”

I pointed to one of the bookcases near the fireplace. “The cabinet at the bottom? Holds all of the good liquor. Omega locked it away from me and Alpha the last time we got trashed and tried to proposition him for a threesome. I think we’re going to need more alcohol before you tell me the rest.”

I think she was grateful for the distraction. She snapped her fingers and the door jumped open effortlessly. We perused the contents of the space for a minute and came away with two bottles of whiskey and a mostly full bottle of rum. We were going to pay dearly when it came time to meet Sister Imperator.

We moved from the kitchen table to the living area, where a fire was burning cheerily. I didn't even remember lighting one. Mist made herself comfortable on the couch while I curled up in one of the oversized chairs next to the coffee table. We spoke about a few mundane topics as we steadily drained our drinks. Finally good and blitzed, I found the nerve to get back on track.

“So…so what happened to your boys?”

My drinking companion stared into the fire, much as I had done earlier that day. “My babies were only a few hundred years old. They were smart and big, and so brave. A few hundred years seems like forever to a mortal but for us they were still only children. Air and I would have laid down our lives in a heartbeat for those precious faces.”

“We never got the chance. Belial showed up on our doorstep. The madness had finally left him and he was checking up on his most prized possessions. I will never forget his face when he saw the boys; he was livid. He flew in to a horrible rage, screaming at me because I hadn’t ditched Air and waited for my master’s return like a good dog. Air heard the ruckus and came running inside. Belial told him everything. He made it sound like the children were part of the plot too and then said Air’s job was done. He banished him from our presence and commanded us to never see one another again.”

“Air was going to fight to stay. I could see it in his eyes, so I forced myself to tell him to leave. I said I had never loved him and he should get out of my sight. Oh, he knew what I was up to but he listened. Both he and Belial left and I believed us to be safe for the time being. That night I woke to the screaming of my babies. It is a sound no mother should ever have to hear.”

She didn’t cry. I was sitting in the chair with tears streaming down my face but she remained detached. Perhaps all the alcohol she’d drank made it feel more like a dream than an actual memory.

“By the time I got to them, Belial was holding them in a trance. He told me I needed to be punished for being so disloyal.” She took a deep breath. “And then he snapped their necks right in front of me.”

I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands. “Just like…”

She eventually looked away from the fire to me. “Yeah. Just like he did with the Ghouls. He knew what it would do to me, and to Air.”

“How did Air find out?”

“Our mental connection. He felt it, saw it through me. It turns out he hadn’t gone very far when he left and was just waiting for the right moment to come back so we could escape. It would have hit him out of nowhere and I’ll never forgive myself for not closing off my mind from him, though the cowardly part of me is glad I didn’t have to tell him face to face.”

“Belial left, said he would give me a few days with the bodies to grieve properly so I would be of use to him again. I just sat there on the floor next to them the whole time.” Her eyes met mine and now I could see the tears shining in them. “They looked like they were sleeping, you know? Just conked out like they had played too much and couldn’t possibly stay awake anymore. Air returned after a day but I couldn’t...I wanted to beg him to kill me but I knew it was no use. He didn’t say anything, didn’t cry. He came and left in silence. The night at the ruins was the first time I had seen him since that day. After my grieving days were up, Belial came back and dragged me from the house. Then he set it on fire.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My hand to the Gods Above and Below - all of this drama was planned long, LONG before those rumors started up. I have proof! I created the outline for this story back in November and it is dated as such. This was the plan from the start. I'm not *that* good at incorporating current events into the story. 
> 
> Next chapter: Maybe Ellie will finally get to sleep...or maybe Omega will finally return? 
> 
> I won't tease: he's coming baaaack.


	7. I'm sorry for doing that to your family, Foxy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lord have mercy. If Ghost, Priest, and MCC keep this up we won't make it to the end of March. What a way to go.

Something was tugging at my foot.

I stretched and barely cracked my eyes open to spy Mist sprawled out on top of the kitchen table. Enough light filtered through the window to allow me to see the little spit bubble domed over her slightly parted lips.

It wobbled precariously when she snored.

I desperately wanted to laugh but it would have sent me tumbling to the floor from my perch on the back of the couch. We’d consumed just about every bottle of liquor we could find, babbled incoherently about Papa and his book, then passed out wherever we could find an empty surface. Devising a proper punishment for Mist was high on my to-do list: our first meeting with Sister Imperator was only a few hours away and I wasn’t certain I would be sober by then.

Closing my eyes, I tried to force myself to resume sleeping. I would have succeeded very nicely too, if another featherlight touch hadn’t ghosted across my foot and up my calf, settling on my thigh as a firm grip. I squeaked stupidly and attempted to hurl myself to the floor to escape our intruder but the hand on my leg tightened and before I could blink I was eating a mouthful of sand.

Spitting the coarse grains from my mouth, I hauled myself up on one side and took in the change of scenery. To my left stood a thicket of trees and a tiny structure I assumed was meant to pass as a beach bungalow; it looked a bit worse for wear. To my right lay the ocean. It was still nighttime wherever I was and the water was deceptively calm. In front of me stood my captor, all broad shoulders and stupid shiny rings. I was going to kill him.

Omega didn’t say anything as I reached over to where the tide had wet the sand quite thoroughly and began gathering it in my palm. I decided I would do the polite thing and strike up a conversation.

“Good to know you’re alive.” I continued packing wet sand, shaping it into a nice firm ball. “Is there something I can help you with?”

He cocked his head at me and I could see his features were ghoulish. Either he hadn’t figured out he could adjust his appearance or he felt comfortable letting me see the real him.

No.

I would not let myself get sappy yet. Seeing him awoke a seething anger inside me and he needed to know that before I forgave him. I would, of course, because I was a pushover when it came to Omega and his big blue eyes but that didn’t mean he wasn’t about to get a face full of sand.

Which he did because my drunken self had pretty decent aim. The best part was he had opened his mouth to speak and my expertly formed sand bullet bounced off his lips to crumble into his mouth. His sputtering sounded pathetic enough but he certainly wasn’t going to get off so easily.

“Payback’s a bitch, eh?” Carefully, I picked myself up from the ground and crossed my arms over my chest. “Want to tell me why we’re here?”

Omega finally stopped coughing and glared at me. “I figured you would be angry.”

“Gee, what gave it away?”

“Are you going to listen to reason or should I just take you back now?”

“Are you going to give me a reasonable explanation for ignoring me for over a month and then just taking off with no notice?”

“I will if you stop hounding me, and looking at me like I’m the bad guy here.”

“No. No I will not. I’m angry and I intend on staying that way for a while.”

“So you conveniently forget that you took off too?”

My jaw hit the ground at his accusation. “Excuse me? What the hell do you mean by that?!”

He trudged across the sand to stop directly in front of me, forcing me to tilt my head back a little to meet his gaze.

“You heard me. I didn’t see you stic-“ He paused and his nose wrinkled in disgust. “Jesus Ellie, why do you smell like a brewery?”

I leaned closer to him and whispered conspiratorially, “Mist finally told me about her and Air. The whole story.”

Omega’s eyes lit up like a kid seeing his presents on Christmas morning and I found myself being dragged across the sand to a plastic lounge chair I had failed to notice earlier. He sunk down to the seat and pulled me with him, maneuvering me until I sat between his legs with my back pressed against his chest. His arms locked around mine and his breath tickled my ear as he said, “Spill it.”

So I did. I recounted the tragic tale and we gossiped about the whole thing like a couple of hens. I pinched the soft skin his thigh next to me and he gave a little yelp. “What was that for?”

“To make sure you don’t tell Mist I told you everything like a big ol’ blabbermouth.”

“Considering she could probably blow my head off with a flick of her wrist, I will definitely not rock that boat.” I craned my head around to look at his face, watching it dawn with the realization of what he said. “Okay, that sounded much less dirty in my head.”

Laughing, I scooted up just enough to kiss him on the cheek. This was what I missed most; I’d gladly take surly, silly Omega over the zombie he became. I continued to use him as my recliner, tracing patterns over the soft fabric of his pants with my fingers. “You don’t really resent me for leaving, do you?” It would probably be best to get this conversation over as quickly as possible.

He was quiet for longer than I expected him to be and I began to worry. Perhaps this was as far as we were meant to go? A cold, sick feeling flooded my chest and breathing became difficult.

“Why did you leave?” His voice was quiet and uncertain. An uncertain Omega was the scariest thing I never wanted to face.

I cleared the fear choking my throat. “The house was driving me insane. What do you remember?”

“Everything.” He said it as though I was being an idiot. “You started having nightmares again, and then you simply stopped speaking to me. I couldn’t get you out of that damn library. I even slept in the studio in case you needed me. Alpha and I had no clue what to do for you and then one day you vanished. I worried myself sick for over a week until Alpha and Air came back to say you’d gone home.”

I sat in stunned silence. Ice crawled down my spine while the alcohol in my gut churned violently; if it had been a joking kind of moment I would have asked Omega why it was him who always made me sick. The thought made me smile despite the seriousness of his words, my own dumb sense of humor shocking me enough to break the terror freezing my limbs. I scrambled around in his lap so I could face him, my hands gripping his forearms for balance.

“That’s not possible. It’s not, because you were the catatonic one. My nightmares came back and you ran from me like I was carrying the plague. I spent more time in the library and slept upstairs because I couldn’t get _you_ up from the studio.” I watched his eyes narrow and my heart nearly stopped. He wasn’t believing me. “Alpha and Air were there helping me. I left because something kept teleporting my ass all over the house and you were doing your best ‘basement horror movie monster’ impression.”

Seeing his doubtful expression had me torn between wanting to cry and wanting to punch him.

“You think I’m lying.” I pulled away from him and searched his eyes. “Why did you bring me here if you thought I had abandoned you so completely?”

He looked away and didn’t answer.

“Riddle me this: why did _you_ leave? You started pulling away before everything got really…bizarre.” Two could play at this game, then.

He still didn’t meet my gaze but decided it a worthy question. “I wasn’t happy about taking a break from Ghost, but I was excited for the projects I had to work on.” He rubbed his forehead with the heal of his palm. “After a while it started to feel like everything I did wasn’t good enough. The more time I spent working the more the doubt ate away at me. I didn’t mean for it to blow back on you. Once you were gone, I thought it might be a good idea if I took a break somewhere else.”

I gripped one of his hands. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It sneaked up on me. I didn’t even realize it was affecting me so much.”

The house. It had to be something in the house that caused our hallucinations and messed up feelings. I could work with that. “Okay. Fine. You might not believe me but at least come back. Talk to Alpha and Air yourself. We need your help anyways.”

I piqued his interest with that line, his head swiveling back to me. “Help with what?”

I quickly outlined everything Papa told us. “We’re having our first meeting with Sister Imperator today, and after the week is up we’re going to see someone named Niels.”

Omega rolled his eyes. “That’s rich. This already smells like a clusterfuck.”

“You don’t like Niels?”

“He’s an okay guy – bit weird. He likes to be called The Flying Fox. Basically he’s a big nerd who packs a whole lot of power and huge grudge against Papa.”

“Why the grudge?” Darling Omega was a gossip hound. If he knew the story he wouldn’t be able to resist telling me.

He chuckled hard enough to shake us both. “He’s still mad because Papa might have defiled his younger sister…and his mom…plus his dad, brother, and possibly a few cousins.”

“Good lord!” I exclaimed, giggling along with him. “Is he dangerous?”

He shrugged. “Can be, when he wants to. Mostly he likes trading information and making music. He’s pretty good at both. Papa thinks Foxy knows where the book is?”

“Yeah. Air didn’t seem to thrilled about us going to see him though.” A hazy memory flashed through my booze soaked brain. “Shit!”

Omega looked startled by my outburst. “What?”

“That’s what Mist and I talked about!” I shot up out of his lap and danced around in the sand. “Papa said if we get ahold of the book, none of us will be able to read it. Mist came to talk to me about the book but we got wasted instead. Right before we fell asleep I finally got it out of her.” Whirling around, I tugged on his arm until he stood up with me. “Mist can read the book.”

Omega recoiled like I’d slapped him. “This! This is why I left. Papa’s always two steps ahead of us and planning how to drag us into his crazy schemes.”

He was starting to sound like Alpha. “You think he planned this? To bring her here?”

“It sure as hell seems that way, doesn’t it? What are the odds we end up recruiting the one person who can read the spellbook that’s supposed to be kept away from Papa? That he forces us and you to become Ghouls and the only way out of it is to find this book?”

I held up a hand to soothe him. “We already thought of it; Alpha’s pissed. Water and Earth are less certain but they’re definitely suspicious. Mist was too plastered to make the connection right away, in front of me anyways, and I have no idea what Air thinks. The man is hundreds of thousands of years old – his poker face is better than average.”

“You could be walking in to the mother of all traps.”

“Which is why you should come back with me. It’d be nice to have someone around to keep Alpha in check. I’m a little afraid he might snap on Papa. Soon.”

Omega stopped pacing. A strange look crossed his face and he lunged at me before I could ask what was wrong. His hand gripped the back of my neck as he hauled me against him, his lips crashing down on mine. Involuntarily I tensed, and then relaxed into his hold. I didn’t know what brought this on but I sure didn’t mind.

“Oh my my. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” My eyes flew open and Omega and I broke apart. Papa stood a few feet away from us looking properly embarrassed. I tried to take a step back but Omega held me tight.

“Papa. What are you doing here?” I asked.

He wiggled in an odd attempt of a jig. “I heard my name in the air. Dear Omega, I am delighted to find you well. You have kept us all rather on edge these past few months.” His tone was quite…acidic. Omega bared his teeth and I poked him subtly, causing him to transform the snarl into a smile. Sort of.

“I was just convincing Omega to come home.” I butted in before my Ghoul could get himself into trouble. “We have things to work out. I’m sure you understand.”

Papa looked between us and I detected a hint of disapproval. If he suspected everyone of shifting out of his control there was no telling what he would do.

“Hmmmm, yes I understand. I assume you will be returning momentarily, as your session with Sister Imperator begins soon. Quite a character, that woman is.” With a dramatic puff of smoke Papa popped out of existence.

Omega brushed his lips against my ear to murmur, “He knows something is up. We have to be careful.”

I rose on tiptoe to mirror his stance. “How did you know he was coming?” The kiss must have been to shut me up. “Does this mean you’ll come with me?”

“It’s a new ability - I can hide myself and track others without their knowledge. I figured it out when no one came blundering after me when I left.” He squeezed me even tighter for a second. “Yes, I’ll come back.”

One second later we were standing on the Ghoulville grounds, the sun barely peeking over the trees in the distance.

A hideous, burning pain shot up the backs of my legs and my knees buckled, dropping me to the grass. Sister Imperator loomed over me, holding a carved walking stick that appeared to be at least 5ft in length.

Ah yes, the good Sister and her stick. I had heard of her love for whacking people around the shins with it but the events of the past twenty-four hours made me slow. I guess I was supposed to learn a lesson from this.

“You’re late.” She barked.

“No shit, Sherlock.”

It was a dumb retort but it popped out before I could stop myself. Sirens rang in my ears and I scuttled backwards away from Imperator and the murder flaring in her eyes. In my haste I plowed directly into Water, who helped me to my feet. Earth and Alpha were standing there as well but Mist and Air had not made an appearance. I thought as much would happen; creatures as old as they probably didn’t need self-defense training.

Imperator launched her stick at me and it was only sheer luck that had me catching it before it knocked my teeth down my throat. It was heavy, much heavier than I would have been able to lift had I still been human. The carvings made it difficult to grasp and it kept sliding through my fingers. Our trainer then stuck her fingers in her mouth and emitted a sharp whistle.

The Ghouls and I glanced at one another in confusion but our unspoken question was quickly answered as the sound of beating wings came with the sunrise.

Up over the trees appeared a beast I thought only existed in legends.

“Is that a fucking dragon?”


	8. Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just an FYI: the dragon in this story looks like the ones from Skyrim, but a bit smaller (mostly because I'm itching to start playing again) 
> 
> I know he'll never see this but I just want to thank Martin Persner (Omega for those of you who haven't heard) (get over it, you'll live if you were avoiding his name) and MCC for giving those of us with disorders we can't normally talk about an entire song to go to when we need it. For me, it's Trichotillomania. I can't describe what it's like to hear the struggle in words like that. The Demon King is the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. Do go listen to it.  
> 

The five of us stood slack jawed, tracking the monster making a beeline for us. As the shock wore off, I realized the dragon wasn’t as large as I first believed, and it was also missing front legs.

“No, that’s a Wyvern I think.” I replied.

Alpha rounded on me, disbelief plain on his face. “Does it matter?!” The beast circled us from above, growling and screeching loud enough to rattle my bones. What would it be like when it landed?

Omega backed up enough to fall in line with the rest of us. “Two minutes back and I’m already getting attacked. How are we going to get out of this one?”

He had a valid point. The woods surrounding the estate were too far away to hide in and there were no buildings nearby duck into. We were completely exposed.

I planted the Sister’s staff firmly in front of me. It was time to see exactly what I could do with my newfound powers. Closing my eyes, I reached for the magic and visualized what I wanted it to do for me. The ground beneath us rumbled ominously as I solidified the image of a forest in my head: lush green leaves, trunks wide enough for a car to fit through, branches crisscrossing to create a thick roof above our heads. Trees sprouted around us as I unleashed the power I’d built up inside, the guys scooting in closer to me out of surprise.

“HA!” My triumph bubbled up unbidden as the world around us darkened, the trees closing us in a protective cocoon. “That was very cool. Now we have a moment to think.”

I’d woven the branches overhead so tightly it made it difficult for the sun to stream through to where we stood. Water wiggled his fingers a few times and a ball of light hovered above his palm. He reached up and carefully placed the light on the top of the staff I still held; I felt like a right proper wizard.

Earth glanced around appreciatively. “Nice one, El.”

Omega swept his hand across my back and squeezed my shoulder. “It’s a fitting shelter, but what are supposed to do with the creature out there?”

“Sister Imperator enlightened us about the situation before you guys came back.” Alpha explained. “She isn’t going easy on us and I have a feeling if that thing decides to attack in earnest she’ll let it kill us. Lucifer is pissed off about this whole plan. He told her not to pull her punches in any way.”

Figures.

He was so angry with me going on a suicide mission he’d rather kill me himself, just to prove a point.

“He’ll get over it.” I swore. The wyvern screamed somewhere outside the forest and trees crunched. It must have found a place to land and attack.

“What’s to stop it from setting the trees on fire?” Water asked nervously.

“It’s a wyvern, and normally those don’t breathe fire." I paused, trying to remember what I'd read about them. "To be fair, I didn’t even know they existed until right now so we’re about to find out just how accurate the lore is.”

I really hoped it couldn’t breathe fire. “I imagine like regular dragons they’re protected by nearly impenetrable scales. Stabbing it in the eye is probably our best way of stopping it. If we break some branches we could...” I trailed off and stared in awe as the four men around me manifested weapons out of thin air.

Omega was holding a solid black longsword. It held little decoration at the hilt except for some kind of swirling design outlined in red. His standard air of menace kicked up a few notches as he maneuvered through a few complicated moves and I had to suppress an embarrassing wave of desire; anybody could use a gun but a sword took serious skill to wield.

Earth was checking a gorgeous green recurve bow that sported runes carved along the upper and lower limbs, a quiver of arrows peeking over his shoulder. It was a good fit for him since he was so small; the strength of a ghoul wouldn’t save him from getting knocked on his ass by a larger opponent. The bow would keep him at a distance but still fighting.

Water must have decided he wanted to be an epic badass and carried a short sword in each hand. The grips were silver with a line of rubies set in place, trailing down from the larger ruby resting in the pommel. I wasn’t quite certain how well he would do with them since I’d only heard of two swords being used to cut down a crowd of enemies close up, but this was only an exercise after all. Whatever he was most comfortable with would probably work out for us in the end.

Alpha held the prettiest weapon, a sword staff. The six foot long pole was black like Omega’s longsword, but held a multitude of glittering jewels, script, and runes similar to those on Earth’s bow. Even in the dim light of my staff it sparkled brilliantly and Alpha grinned arrogantly as he caught me gaping at it.

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, words failing miserably to escape. “You guys are the Power Rangers and never told me?!” The way they moved with their weapons screamed they had practiced fighting with them more than once.

They all snickered at my outburst.

I gestured wildly with my free hand for emphasis. “Seriously you guys! Where did you, I mean, how did you…?”

Omega was still laughing as he pulled my staff away from me, his longsword now resting safely in a scabbard buckled at his waist. He made sweeping motions over the bottom half of the wood and I watched as it elongated, the tip sharpening to mimic Alpha’s sword staff minus the elaborate decorations. He flicked the little ball of light away from the top, leaving us in gloom once again and righted the weapon so I could carry it.

Grabbing my hand, he started pulling me toward the edge of the trees and clarified, “Papa made us learn. It was one of the first things we did after we developed our powers when Belial first granted them to us. The weapons aren’t real – just physical manifestations of our magic.” He shot a look backwards as the others followed behind us. “Now it’s your turn to learn.”

I wanted to run shrieking deeper into the forest. I thought we would at least start with some basic fighting techniques, not have to conquer a damn dragon.

“And how do you propose we win this battle? I’ve only had minimal weapons training. Lucifer was pretty sure I’d chop my own foot off by accident, so he gave me my gun instead.” My gun that had suspiciously gone missing many months ago.

Evidently no one believed in my ability to handle any kind of weapon.

Alpha charged past us as we came to point where the forest gave way to the open greenspace. The wyvern was nowhere in sight but we could still hear it trying to thrash its way to us. He held up a hand, signaling us to stop.

“The best shot we have is letting Earth shoot its eye out with one of his special arrows. That means the rest of us distract and try to pin its head down somehow. It’s small enough that our staves,” he gestured to me, “might do the trick, or Omega’s sword.”

I gulped and stared at my own staff in terror. Alpha noticed and said, “Seeing as how Ellie has never fought like this, it’ll be up to Omega and I to penetrate the eye or settle it enough for Earth to get a clean shot. Water, you’ll provide support and distraction. Hack at its hind quarters and tail to keep it preoccupied but don’t be a hero; you move if it gets too hairy. We’ll flank the head, Omega on the right and me on the left. If we can disorient it, we can strike more often and find the weak points. There’s got to be some kind of soft flesh under those scales.”

My voice shook as I asked Alpha what he wanted me to do. He grimaced. “Stay with Earth. You created the forest, so I’ll assume you can create your own projectiles to help with the distracting. Best we survive this and then teach you how to kill the old fashioned way.”

With that said he let out a whooping shout and aimed his staff at the sky. It exploded much like a gun and set fireworks dancing across the sun to catch the creature’s attention. He zipped out in the open with Omega and Water hot on his heels.

They were ridiculously fast. They hadn’t had a chance to fight Belial since the Prince deceived them with a truce, took their powers, and immediately killed them. This time they were prepared and I had a front row seat to the show. Earth scampered up the tree next to us, settling himself on a branch that had the perfect view of the action below. I couldn’t carry my staff and climb at the same time, so I aimed for a branch next to and slightly below Earth, preparing to jump. The branch was as big around as Alpha’s ego and I had a better chance of still landing on it even if I overpowered the leap.

Shifting energy to my legs I bent and hurled myself straight up to my target. Somehow I landed in a crouch, using the staff to balance when I would have gone careening too far over the side. These new Ghoul reflexes were going to come in handy.

Slinking toward the edge of the branch, I watched the wyvern descend from above the trees and touch down next to Omega, Alpha, and Water. The second it hit the ground Water darted behind it as planned, blades moving with such speed they were a blur. Whoa. I did not expect it from someone so sweet as the quiet bassist.

The scales proved to be as difficult to hack through we suspected and the blades bounced off, sparks flying as Water’s arms whirled faster. He was doing an admirable job annoying the thing though, it’s enormous head whipping around to snap at whatever was poking it in the ass.

The dragon had landed with its back to Earth and I, so when the jaws came snapping toward Water Earth would have a decent shot at the eyes.

“How’re you going to get an arrow to pierce the eye deep enough to kill it?” His arrows looked impressive but the creature was the size of a two or three story house – it would take a lot of force to get through the eye to the brain and I couldn’t see how a simple arrow would do that.

Earth nocked an arrow and squinted at me. “I hear doubt in your voice, Ellie. I’m offended.” He grinned and let the arrow fly. It struck the ground next to the creature’s foot, then promptly exploded. The animal reared back, giving Alpha an opening to launch himself at its wing. Omega leaped up and sliced at the vulnerable skin of the throat but only scored a shallow slice with his sword as the neck continued on its arching backwards path out of his range.

At least now we knew the thing could bleed.

Alpha skated up the wing and ran flat out across the scales on the back, practically flying straight up the neck. He plunged his staff down, aiming for an eye, but the dragon’s movement threw off his trajectory and it burrowed deeply in the snout. Alpha was thrown clear of the fight and next to me Earth cursed.

“I can’t get a clear shot at the face.” He growled.

The guys danced around trying to pin the head but they couldn’t quite manage it while dodging wicked claws and teeth. It gave me an idea.

Holding out my left hand, I focused energy and magic there. My brow furrowed and I could see Earth staring at me out of the corner of my eye. As I concentrated, the faint outline of a person appeared on the field below us. It glimmered and solidified into a shadow man. Apparently I wasn’t strong enough to make it look like a real human but I hoped it still might work.

I thrust my arm forward, making the almost-clone move. It stumbled a bit drunkenly since my control was tenuous but I got it in position near the wyvern’s legs and waved my arms above my head to get the shadow to mimic my movements, attracting attention.

It worked! The beast’s eyes zeroed in on my little guy and barreled toward the ground to attack. Earth fired off arrows in rapid succession, resulting in staccato explosion bursts which filled the scene with smoke. We waited with baited breath to discover if we won the day, the smoke not clearing quickly enough for my liking.

A breeze fluttered the leaves nearby and moved the haze enough to allow us to see powerful teeth enthusiastically chewing on my shadow man. Damn. Damndamndamndamdamn.

It stomped its feet in some kind of demented ecstasy, causing the ground to shiver in a minor earthquake. Unfortunately Omega happened to be standing far too close to the shaking and lost his balance, sword falling out of his grip as he tried to control the fall. He flailed and landed on his back, the creature’s foot crashing down on him with sickening force. I heard him cry out in pain and I screamed out of fear with him. A Ghoul might be sturdier than a human but losing their heads would definitely put them out of commission forever. I doubted even Lucifer could bring him back from that.

My mind went blank with terror and instinct kicked in as I vaulted down from the tree, Earth shouting nonsense behind me as I raced on to the field. One minute the beast’s head loomed over Omega as he squirmed to free himself, and then quick as lightening those massive jaws yawned wide and dove at my Ghoul.

There was nothing I could do.

It didn’t matter. I had to stop it. I pushed out my will with such force it drove me to the ground. The dragon’s mind was a fortress but I was desperate and I rammed into its mental walls with the strength of a hundred battering rams. The walls shattered like glass under the assault and I snatched free will away from the beast just as it would have torn Omega in half. Holding it there, a hairsbreadth away from his face, I waited for the struggle of containing such an animal to hit me.

It didn’t.

I’d never melded with an animal before, and the last time I tried to control another entity (a demon possessing me) I nearly died.

This was…easy. There was no pain and nothing fought back against my iron grip. I commanded it to move its leg off of Omega, allowing Water and Alpha to dart in and drag him away from the danger zone. His legs had to be broken after such a blow but it was manageable damage, something he could heal from quickly.

I forced the creature to place its head on the ground and motioned to Earth to fire from where he still perched in his tree.

The solid ‘thunk’ of two arrows hitting home in the eye socket was stomach churning and I booked it away before I got caught in the blast. I didn’t need to be told when the dragon died; moments after the explosion tore into its brain I had nothing to control. My will returned to me with a snap and I dropped next to the others on the grass, exhausted.

Sister Imperator appeared out of nowhere, her hands smacking together in mocking applause.


	9. Sweet Release

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a shitty week in the Ghost fandom, so have some smut. 
> 
> *edit* I am woefully not satisfied with the chapter at all (oh the irony). I just couldn't get the flow right. Definitely feel free to skip, you won't miss too many important details. 
> 
> Ack.

Imperator stood over us and ceased her sarcastic clapping. “What a mess you all appear to be. I’m going to have to ask Lucifer for a raise.”

Earth came jogging over, skidding to a stop. “What do you mean? We killed it didn’t we?”

The Sister laughed uproariously and I had a sudden urge to knock her over with her stick. “Oh you killed it, but it should have taken you seconds to do so. Have you no idea how to use your abilities?” If her eyes had been lasers, she would have fried us all on the spot.

Water looked properly confused by her question. “I think we did okay, considering we didn’t know what was happening.”

Imperator was nearly frantic in her disapproval, however. “Weapons! In all my years of encountering dangerous beings, you’re quite possibly the dumbest ones I’ve met. Did it never once occur to any of you to use telekinesis? Boil its blood from within?” She was really winding herself up.

Omega interrupted her by hissing in pain and Alpha shot up off the ground, pushing his face directly into Imperator’s. “Look lady, if you want to lecture us you’re going to have to do it another time. One of ours is hurt. We’ll be taking care of him now.”

We turned our backs on her as we rallied around Omega and prepared to move him.

“Fine, but Miss Portland? You will meet me this evening for further training. You are by far the most inexperienced here and are a liability.”

* * *

 

The boys and I carried Omega to his cabin, where we confirmed the bones in both his lower legs had been broken. He was rather lucky the creature’s foot hadn’t landed farther up or he might have been momentarily paralyzed. Air came to help and his face was grim as he told us, “It feels as though some of the bones were not just broken, but crushed. He will heal but it will take longer than a simple fracture.” He set Omega’s legs in splints and said we could call him if anything changed.

Alpha and Water sat the injured Ghoul up in a comfortable position and Earth offered to pop off and get him serious pain killers, but Omega insisted his legs really only hurt when he moved. As long as he sat relatively still he claimed to feel fine. I requested Alpha please inform the good Sister I would not be attending our afternoon lesson; Omega would need someone around for assistance and that was my job. The old hag could wait ‘til tomorrow.

The others filed out as morning bled into the afternoon, leaving us to a quiet house. I brought a chair in from the kitchen table and sat it next to the bed. Omega look at me like I’d lost my mind. “What’re you doing?”

“Watching you. Why?”

He patted the empty space next to him and I vigorously shook my head. “No way. I’ll accidentally hurt you somehow.”

He scoffed conceitedly and made of show of attempting to wiggle his legs. “See? Air has me wrapped up so tight not even an earthquake could shake these babies.” He stuck his lip out in a pitiful pout. “I think I deserve cuddles for helping slay a dragon…with a sword.”

Hearing him say ‘cuddles’ had me cracking up. “You’ve been hanging out with Alpha way too long.”

But the more I thought about him with that sword again the more the desire I squashed earlier came roaring back. Leaning in, I inhaled his scent and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek, skating away before he could grab me.

“I guess you do deserve something for returning home, to help lil ol’ me solve a big bad mystery.”

“You know it creeps me out when you talk like that.”

I thumbed through the items we kept in the closet until I found the few I wanted, replying, “Don’t worry, my darling. We won’t have to talk soon enough.”

I went into the bathroom and heard him mutter, “Yeah, that’s weird too.”

Rolling my eyes, I called out, “You’re not going to get any reward by telling me how weird I am.”

I shimmied out of my clothes and into a sheer black negligee. It had lacy flowers across the chest and hem, was just long enough to cover my ass, and this one I bought myself a few days before things went to hell in a handbasket; it was the perfect surprise for someone injured in “epic battle”.

I sauntered back in to the bedroom and was met with an enthusiastic wolf whistle. Omega’s eyes were everywhere but my face as he asked, “So what’s the plan?” He nodded at his immobile legs. “Because whatever you have in mind might have to be modified.”

Grinning, I inched up to the side of the bed where he lay and titled his head up with a finger, planting a lingering kiss on his mouth. “It’s a good thing I already know how good you are in the sack, otherwise you’d never have sex using words like ‘modified’ and ‘plan’.”

Gingerly, I climbed on top of him so my knees rested on either side of his thighs. His hands immediately clutched at my waist and I kissed him more roughly this time, building the heat between us even further. As if they had a mind of their own, my hips ground against him with excruciating control.  I’d taken two scarves from the closet along with the negligee and finding the will to break away, used one to secure one of his wrists to the headboard. It wasn’t meant to be a proper tie, only a temporary deterrent. Omega purred and buried his face between my breasts, licking and nipping at any exposed skin he find.

Giggling, I bopped him on the head lightly with my fist. “Stop that! You’ll get your turn in a second!”

He pretended not to hear so I quickly finished securing him completely and rolled away. It took only moments to shut the door, close the curtains, and light the candles we scattered on every flat surface in the room.

Preparations done, I wandered back over to the bed and sank down next to him, yanking his head back and kissing him once more. Our tongues lashed against one another as we both struggled for dominance, dominance that came to a head when he bit my bottom lip hard enough to draw blood. I pulled away and attacked his throat, finding his pulse point and clamped down hard with my teeth. Omega groaned and his fists clenched but he didn’t break his bonds.

“Mmmmm, this will be fun.” I murmured, my hands tracing the straining muscles of his arms, one trailing down over his chest and stomach so my nails could scratch lines across his soft skin. Reaching beneath the thin sheet that pooled around his waist, I gripped his cock and stroked him firmly, using my mouth to tease all the sensitive spots of his body I could reach: tongue sweeping across his nipples, teeth biting a taut line down his rib cage, nibbling across the delicate area below his belly button, wet kisses dotting the insides of his thighs. His little grunts and moans were making me unbearably wet and I slipped a finger between my legs, across my clit to find some relief.

“ _Ellie_.”

I whined as Omega broke my trance with his commanding tone. Sitting back on my knees, I faced him; his hair was mussed from my fingers, lips reddened, his skin dark pink at the spots where my bites were less than delicate.

The look in his eyes made me want to forget he was hurt.

“Get off the bed.” Uh oh. It sounded like he had that plan he asked about earlier. Crawling backwards I hopped off the bed and stood, waiting for his next instructions.

He indicated the night table next to us and suddenly I knew what he wanted. I didn’t even need to look in the drawer, my eyes glued to his as I reached in and palmed two slim objects. Before I could ask how this would work, he wrenched one hand free from the headboard (that lasted about as long as I expected) so I could toss him the remote-control half of the set. He had tried to surprise me with one of those giant wands but I overruled him and selected something more simple, but just as fun.

“ _Sit_.”

I walked over to the chair I’d brought in, hiking up my nightie up around my hips before sitting down. The chair was close to the bed but apparently not close enough for Omega, as he reached over between my legs and yanked at the seat until it was flush against the side. The new position forced me to lift my feet and brace them against the mattress, spreading my legs wide. I was grateful the room was only lit by candlelight; I felt vulnerable being this exposed, even with Omega looking at me like I was his favorite dessert.

I smiled at him shyly. “I thought I was supposed to be taking care of you.” His answering smile was borderline evil as he leaned over to run a finger along my slit, sending little electric shocks throughout my body.

Voice thick with desire, he toyed with me ever so carefully. “So impatient. What’s your rush?”

My rush was I hadn’t had sex in nearly two months and all this teasing was going to make me explode into a million pieces.

As he pulled his finger away I could see it was glistening wet, and before he could react I bent forward and closed my lips around it, sucking the entire digit into my mouth.

I could tell I caught him off guard by the way his eyes widened; that and the way he tore his other wrist free from the delicate scarf. Jerking back, I showed him the cute little purple vibrator I still held. “Ah, ah, ah. Playtime first.”

My free hand snaked its way down between my legs and picked up where he left off, teasing my clit in slow circles as he watched.

“Two can play at that game.” He growled and drew the sheet away from his body to stroke himself, his hand matching pace with my fingers.

Arousal so strong it physically hurt coursed through my veins and I let my head fall back. “Fuck you! Tease.”

The little vibrator I had almost forgotten about jumped to life in my palm, forcing my head up so our gazes were locked.

“Once my legs heal, yes, you will fuck me.”

Shivering from that solemn promise, I swapped the fingers on my clit for the vibrator. The gentle pulsing wasn’t strong but it had the muscles in my thighs jumping from the sensation.

I gasped with pleasure. “ _More_.” I demanded it, craved it.

Omega obliged, setting the toy to a higher intensity and my body bucked so hard it managed to scoot the chair back an inch or two.

It was too much but still, I wanted more. With deliberate slowness I drew a finger along my slit and pressed it to my entrance, moaning loudly as it I slid it as deeply as I could.

Omega’s fist moved faster over his cock, the frustration of not being able to touch each other as we wanted plainly written on his face. He set the vibrator as high as it would go and I cried out. “Mmm…yes! Right there…” I panted. “I’m almost there.”

He pulled my fingers away from my pussy and thrust two of his own inside me, curling them to hit that magical spot over and over.

Every nerve in my body went into overdrive as he whispered encouragement. “Come Ellie. Come all over my fingers. I want to taste you.”

The gruffness of his voice was enough to tip me over the edge. Arching away from the chair with a silent scream on my lips, I clenched  around his thick fingers and tried not to slide off the chair.

The vibrator clicked off after I rode out my orgasm. The room was a bit fuzzy when I opened my eyes, realizing Omega’s fingers were no longer inside me.

He waited until I was watching to suck his fingers into his mouth and another tremor shook me to my core.

His hand was pumping vigorously around his hard length, indicating he was close, and I copied his earlier gesture by knocking his hand away to replace it with my own, along with my mouth. His hands fisted the sheets as I worked him swiftly, bringing him to the brink of his control as his sensitive head hit the back of my throat. A hoarse shout ripped from his throat and I pulled away, spit dribbling down over my chin, his cum covering my hands and his stomach.

I bent down to lick some of it away from his skin, eyeing him as I did so. “It seems we’ve made a mess. I wonder how we should clean it up?”


	10. Even when they're not Priest, they're still causing trouble

The next morning I grumbled unhappily as I dragged myself up to the Main House to meet Sister Imperator. Alpha had delivered my messaged about missing our meeting and she had him let me know I was to report to her an hour past dawn. Omega regained the use of his legs sometime in the middle of the night and I really, _really_ did not want to be away from him, but the others were going to meet the Sister and I after breakfast for more training. I hoped we wouldn’t have to kill anything else this week.

Crossing the lawn, I saw Imperator sitting stiffly in one of the chairs arranged on the patio off the living room. I wondered how blasphemous it would be for an employee of Lucifer to make the sign of the cross.

“Good morning, Sister.” I greeted her. “How did you sleep?” Perhaps being nice to her would make her less inclined to be a bitter crow.

“Poorly.”

Nope.

“There is something wrong with this house.” She sniffed haughtily as she said it.

I nearly did a double take at her words. “You feel it too?

Examining me critically, she leaned over and poured liquid from a teapot into two delicate cups I hadn’t known the guys even owned. Pushing the cup toward me, I found an invitation to sit down. I resisted the urge to check the chair I chose for explosives.

“You’re possibly not as stupid as I pegged you.” Coming from Imperator that was almost a compliment.

“Does that mean Lucifer is stupid?” I snuffled openly at what appeared to be tea. “Because when I asked him he said he couldn’t sense anything unusual.” Though poisoning might not kill me, I didn’t trust her not to try.

She nearly smiled at my antics as she sipped from her own cup. “I’m not going to poison you, though it is good to see you finally acting like someone who is in constant peril.”

Ah. Everyone had painted her as Umbridge when in reality she was Mad-Eye. _Vigilance!_ I had her number now.

She snapped her fingers at me, scolding, “Stop wandering off! I tell you you’re in danger and you daydream. I am shocked you have survived this long, dithering imbecile.”

Shrugging, I continued to drink my tea and wait for her say whatever it was weighing on her mind.

“Lucifer is not stupid, but I believe whatever is shrouding this house is hidden from him.” She sounded curious. “It drove you and Omega away in madness, did it not?”

I nodded. “Yeah, but he can’t remember it. I know exactly what happened, how we were both falling apart, but he seems to think he was unaffected.”

Imperator’s cup cracked sharply on the table as she put it down haphazardly. “You haven’t told him the truth have you?”

“Sort of?” I said, thinking back. “I mean, I tried to but he didn’t believe me. I was going to have Alpha or Air explain it all later tonight.”

She slashed her hand through the air, an emphatic ‘no’. “Do _not_ do such a dumb thing. It might break his brain and you are going to see The Fox. You will need him.”

“Okay, what is the big deal about ‘The Flying Fox’?” I demanded. “Omega said he was just a big nerd with a few fancy magic tricks. The rest of you act like he’s The Big Bad Wolf and that’s just too many animal metaphors for me to keep track of.”

Sister Imperator jumped to her feet and began pacing around the patio in dizzying circles. She was muttering in a language I couldn’t recognize but she threw out snippets in English every few seconds. “Stupid…breaking his brain might be good…Lucifer help me…Fox will eat them…Gobble them right up, indeed!”

Waving my hands around to get her attention, I prodded her again, “Sister… _Sister!_ You’re going to have to simplify this for me. Please.”

She looked at me as if she’d only realized I was still there and stuck her hand inside her black robes, pulling out some folded up paper. Settling herself back in her chair, she held the paper tightly in her fist.

“The Fox is the man everyone goes to _with_ information and _for_ information. It is possible he holds even more secrets than Lucifer himself.”

Okay, that was a big deal.

“His abilities are impressive, but you’re right – he is not stronger than some of the nightmare creatures roaming this earth. They could probably kill him in a heartbeat if they chose.” She paused for dramatic effect. “But he has made himself indispensable. Many influential beings go to him because they know he will have what they are looking for. It’s why Lucifer believes the Angels told him where Emeritus’s book is hidden.”

I was still confused. “Okay, that tells me why he hasn’t had his ass kicked eight ways from Sunday, but why do we have to be so careful?” We weren’t planning on killing Niels. He would have no reason to find us threatening.

She grunted in annoyance and threw the paper down on the table between us. “If you go see him, he will ask you to do something in return for what he knows. He will require you to give him equally valuable information or send you to complete a task. Do you have any valuable information?”

I thought about Air’s true identity; Mist and her connection with Belial; their children and how potentially deadly they could have been had they lived. “No.” I replied.

No Fox would get those stories from me. They weren’t mine to tell.

Imperator frowned. “You’re lying. I can’t force you to take the smart route but I highly encourage it. It would save you much time.” She pointed at the paper and I reached over to pick it up. “Since you are stubborn, he will send you all to retrieve something for him.”

There were actually three sheets of yellowing paper in the pile, each displaying a crude drawing of some kind of…

“I’m sorry, are you saying he’s going to send us to procure fetishists?”

The first drawing was of a person wearing a full head mask covered in silver spikes. He wore a suit with a priest's collar, gloves on his hands and a large necklace bearing the alchemical symbol for Mercury. At first glance, I thought the other two drawings were of the same person, but their symbols differed. One displayed Salt, the other Sulfur. They too wore suits (minus the collar) and their masks sported large bird-like beaks protruding from the nose/mouth area.

They looked like they were all decked out for an "alternative" Halloween party consisting of a lot of acid and a lot of unwanted touching.

I stared at Imperator in disbelief. She and Lucifer wanted us to be afraid of a guy who was going to use us to indulge in his kinky gimp-loving side?

Sister smiled tightly at my comment. "They look...unusual, but the truth of the matter is they are legendary, infamous for their cruelty and inability to discern right from wrong."

I glanced back at the drawings. "What're they gonna do, beak us to death?"

Now she was glaring daggers at me, my sarcasm obviously stretching her patience wafer-thin. "There are no consistent records detailing exactly what they’re capable of. They're creatures long sought after by many powerful entities but they were deemed too much of a risk to keep on Earth. They now reside in a rift between dimensions."

A rift between dimensions? 

"And just how are we, very ordinary almost-humans, going to find this rift and free them?” I inquired dryly. “I missed the class on busting up wormholes."

Imperator clucked her tongue impatiently. “I don’t know but he wouldn’t assign this task if you didn’t have some way of accomplishing it. I believe part of the answer resides with Air or Mist. Lucifer was in a state of madness the last time these demons roamed the Earth, so they’re the only two old enough and probably the most willing to speak on such matters.”

Speaking of the devils, the world’s oldest power couple chose that particular moment to exit out of the door behind us. I held up a finger. “Uh, a word please!”

They joined us, sitting together on the couch placed to the side of our two chairs. I studied the pair and found something between them seemed…different. Air looked more relaxed than I’d ever seen him, almost peaceful, while Mist appeared to be avoiding looking me directly in the eye. Just the tiniest hint of smile hovered at the corners of her mouth.

Oh. Oh my.

Apparently they were no longer fighting. Mist finally glanced my way and I saluted her with my teacup, waggling my eyebrows at her. Imperator spat in disgust and we both took turns explaining about The Fox and his band of merry dirty birds. I finished by asking them if they had any idea about the bizarre looking creatures.

“I’ve heard of them.” Mist said. “Belial used to tell me horror stories about them, threatening to free them if I misbehaved. I always thought it was a bluff though.” She looked over at Air, who had turned positively green as we spoke. He laced his fingers with hers and swallowed visibly before answering.

“I know who they are and I must plead with you to leave them in their prison.” It was clear this was a topic he didn't care to discuss.

I scowled. “I wish everyone would stop with the cryptic bullshit. I need a straight answer this time!”

I felt guilty about snapping because Air looked _freaked_ but we couldn’t blunder around this situation like we did in the past. Mist leaned in to his side, her free hand coming to rest on the upper part of his arm. He smiled down at her in return.

Taking a deep breath, he gave in. “The three in drawings are Mercury, Salt, and Sulfur. The _Tria Prima_. Sulfur embodies the soul; Salt represents the body; Mercury, the spirit. They are living embodiments of these three elements, meaning they form everything in this universe. Do you see yet why they are not to be trifled with?”

I didn’t, and told him so. He sighed, leaning forward. “They are the basis for our existence. They can create anything they desire, but their destructive nature is the reason why both Angels and Demons agreed to imprison them. I have seen it firsthand.”

His eyes were haunted as he struggled to continue. “You could be standing outside the gates to an enormous city one minute, and in the next they have wiped it from reality. I do not mean they destroy it and leave ruins, you must understand. Every speck of that city is obliterated. They can look at a person and do the same.”

His words left me cold inside. Even Sister Imperator looked gobsmacked by Air’s revelations.

I couldn’t get my voice to cooperate, whispering, “How did you lock them away?”

“They are controlled by something called The Puppet Master. Very little is known about this,” he waved his hands around, searching for the right word, “thing. It is older than I and was once thought to be human. It is some type of intelligence and it controls Mercury and his companions. We waited for it to relinquish control of their minds and took them before the Puppet Master could stop us.”

“We?”

“Two angels, every available Prince of Hell, and myself.”

Now I was lost again. “Why didn’t they just poof you out of existence?”

“I and those who helped me are comprised of magic. The _Tria Prima_ have a more difficult time breaking down abstract beings, like those who are magic. Given enough time they could have ‘poofed’ us all but we were faster.”

I was connecting the dots in my head. “So…so if we’re going to do this…What you’re saying is, is that you’re the one who stuck them in that rift?” 

“Yes.” Air appeared to be connecting dots as well, wariness creeping in to his voice.

“Which means you could get them out.” So, Air was the reason why Niels was so confident about this mission; it had nothing to do with I or the other Ghouls.

“Technically yes, but-“

“Don’t say no just yet.” I pleaded. “Wait until we finish the training and then decide. “

I turned to Sister Imperator. “If you’ll excuse me, Sister? I need to go inform the others what we’ll be up against. If they decide to continue then we’ll see you at training this afternoon.”

I got up and walked away, too rattled to do much else than play Air’s words over and over in my head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I'm adding Priest, though clearly they are not a band at all in this fic. I was going to add them later in the story but they fit in quite nicely here, allowing me to tie-in the rift and Niels...well, if you stick it out with me you'll see.


	11. Broken pieces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just some fluffy fluff floof. Air might seem a bit out of character but only Mist can bring out this side of him.  
> Pretty much from here on out nothing is going to be very happy.  
> *evil laughter*

_Let's enlighten the night_  
_We can fall away, slip out of sight_  
_When you drop your guard_  
_Melt into time, so intertwined, quiet_

Air was sprawled out on his bed, head propped up on the hand resting beneath it. When he wasn’t on tour he usually spent this time indulging in one of his many hobbies but today he had something far more entertaining to distract himself with. His current indulgence walked out of the bathroom, a glimmering waterfall of hair covering her naked breasts. He hadn’t felt much like taking a lover or pursuing someone since they had parted that fateful day, though he had forced himself to try on a few occasions. It never worked out. Humans were fascinating but not much fun to be around for extended periods of time. Even his life was too short for such tomfoolery.

Stretching out his hand, he beckoned her to come back to bed.

Mist stared down at Air, emotions plain on her face even in the dim light of the afternoon. Taking his hand, she allowed him to draw her down so she lay on his chest, sliding the sheets around to cover her bare bottom. Sometimes being tiny had its advantages. Mist rested her chin on folded hands and watched Air watching her.

Neither of them had meant to end up in such a compromising situation; after waking up on top of Ellie’s table, Mist had borrowed the shower and marched herself across the grounds to Air’s cottage. She wanted to level his quaint little house that sat tucked innocently away in the trees. With all the unspent hurt and anger roiling around inside her she could have leveled every building on the property, possibly all the buildings in town nearby. She was so damn tired of being blamed for the past and it was time to let her estranged husband know it.

Mist’s fury was a tangible thing by the time she reached the house, so much so that she’d lost control and blown the front door clean off the frame as she reached out to knock.

Her target exploded from a chair in the corner, ready to fight an unknown threat as she flowed through the doorway. They faced each other in a standoff, both unsure what to do next. There were so many words, so many bottled up feelings inside Mist that she knew would never make sense if she tried to physically speak them. Instead, she resorted back to their old mind link and unleashed a tide of a thousand years of grief on Air.

He had staggered under the weight of such a burden and then fell to the ground from the pain. For a split second it felt good to see him finally understand what she had been putting herself through for so many centuries, but as Mist watched him struggle she realized it was not the right way. Hurting him ultimately didn’t make her feel better and it turned her into a monster. A whisper of power, and she closed the link between them.

In an flash Air went from writhing on the floor to pinning Mist against the wall, one big hand wrapped around her throat. His eyes were near crazed with rage and sorrow; she’d never worried about him harming her before but it felt like this time she might have pushed him too far. Slowly, she had raised her hand and traced her fingers along his strong jaw.

Abruptly Air dropped her. His eyes returned to normal and he sank back down on the floor, resting his forehead against Mist’s stomach in a silent apology.

“Enough.” She hadn’t meant to say it aloud but she’d had _enough_ of the sadness, of the horrors they’d both faced in their long lives. Air looked up at her with wet eyes and she finally did the one thing she’d been wanting to do since seeing him at the ruins: she had kissed him.

Lucky for the pair everyone on the grounds was off fighting a dragon, because they made up for lost time right there in front of the open doorway.

“Something is happening in that head of yours.” Air’s voice drew Mist back to the present.

She smiled. “Just thinking about us.” She pressed a quick kiss to the smooth skin of his chest and ran her hands lightly up and down his forearms just because she could.

He answered her smile with a beaming one of his own. “We have a big decision to make.”

“We do?”

“Yes. We have to decide what we should do now.”

“Wha-what do you mean?” She wasn't sure she liked the sound of this.

One of his hands cupped her behind, scooting her higher up on his body so her face rested closer to his. The other hand moved to rub at the frown turning her mouth. “No worries, my love. I simply mean we can go anywhere now, just like we used to. What new country would you like to visit? The world has changed since we last saw it together.”

Mist was feeling a bit lost. “What, until the tour starts up again?”

He laughed. “If you wanted. Or we could leave for good.”

“Leave?” Her eyes widened comically, causing Air to laugh even harder and bury his face in her neck, dotting the line of her throat with wet kisses. “Ah, stop that. You make it hard to concentrate.” She tugged at his hair until his head rested on the pillow again. “You would leave them if I said so?”

He nodded solemnly. “I joined the band because I had no other purpose, and in a way they do remind me of our boys, but you are my new dream.”

“You got that from Tangled didn’t you.” Mist hid her face against his chest as she tried not to give in to the giggles threatening to erupt. 

A faint blush had the audacity to stain Air’s cheeks as he struggled to reply with dignity. “It is Ellie’s fault. Do not tease me – it is quite fitting in this instance.” Seriousness returned to his face while he continued on, “Whatever you wish, we will do. Nothing in Heaven, Hell, or in-between will tear us apart again. I will not lose you again.”

Her breathing became shallow as she whispered her greatest wish. “What if…I wanted more children?” She almost couldn’t look at him as she waited for his response.

A minute later Mist landed flat on her back as Air flipped them both so he was on top of her. “What’re you doing?!”

“If we’re going to have more children I think we should start right away.” He replied, then proceeded to playfully attack her mouth with his. Mist squealed under the assault but (after a few minutes of frantic kissing) pushed at his shoulders to regain his attention.

“Wait, wait! I didn’t mean right now.” Air huffed and rolled away so they could face each other laying on their sides. “I think we should stay and help the kids.”

It took Air a moment to understand she meant the Ghouls and Ellie. “It would not be wise to bring those monsters back to our world, Mist.”

His wife gave him her best glare, the kind she used to use against the boys when they were misbehaving. “It might, but don’t you feel responsible for the safety of the others? I’ve only known them a few months and I do – surely you wouldn’t want them to get hurt…Air…my darling…”

He matched her glare. “It is not fair of you to ask me this.”

“They’re our friends.” Her plain words had the effect she wanted as he sighed heavily.

“Fine. We will help them retrieve the Puppets, but after that they are on their own. Papa’s book is not our concern.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Air excused himself to go to the bathroom and Mist scooted to the middle of the bed, tucking a pillow under her chin to hug tightly. Fear and hope choked her simultaneously and she battled to get both under control before Air noticed.

Mist needed that book. She knew she should tell Air everything but it would only make the situation worse, much like it would have before. She had to trust he’d keep his word and not leave her again.

Tears pricked her eyes and she clutched the pillow in a panic. She was kidding herself – Air would never stay once he knew what she was tasked to do.

If only he’d found her sooner.

Maybe she wouldn’t have made such an awful bargain for her freedom.


	12. I hope Niels doesn't mind ending up in fanfiction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had zero motivation to write lately, but then today "Turn" was released. Hearing Martin Persner sing 'Fuck it all' was really cathartic and gave me some kind of twisted energy to give you guys this chapter. 
> 
> It's also inspired a new direction for Natural Order so I might be bringing that one back from the dead soon. 
> 
> Next chapter - Ellie and the gang are off to Hell to liberate our favorite kinky babes. Also, Earth is now nicknamed Beast Boy in my head.

The week of training passed quickly enough. We spent time learning how to properly use the abilities we’d been given and though we all had the same powers this time around, everyone showed promise in different areas. I, of course, showed proficiency with mind control. Apparently whatever power Papa gave me had enhanced my pre-existing power and now I was able to fully envelop the mind of another creature.

Water still hadn’t forgiven me for forcing him to imitate water fowl for the better part of an hour.

My new skills were all thanks (shockingly) to Sister Imperator. One on one sessions with her after normal training exercises allowed me to explore whatever inner magic I might have hiding away and hone it so it would be battle-ready when the time came to free Mercury, Sulpher and Salt. Imperator might have been a cranky old bear but she was loyal to Lucifer and followed his orders without hesitation.

Each of the Ghouls showed an immense improvement in their skills as well. Alpha had taken a liking to blowing things up (not terribly surprising since he was the Fire Ghoul after all) and rather gleefully spent his time conjuring dead animals so he could pop their heads from their bodies like the cork from a wine bottle.

Sweet, soft Water was vicious in his preferred fighting style too, choosing the blood boiling method to study. He’d started by practicing with jars of pigs blood and worked his way up to dead animals like Alpha had. Boiling blood that was no longer flowing was actually more difficult but he’d mastered the technique in no time. Neither of the two men had the stomach to practice on living creatures, not even the ones Sister Imperator created specifically for training. She claimed they were not “true” beings but it still felt…wrong. The only way any of us were going to be able to take a life was if we were fighting for our own.

Omega’s talent lie in creating brilliant illusions. I had the bruises to prove just how realistic they were, when one morning I woke up surrounded by a vast expanse of ocean and nothing else. I’d flailed fantastically without realizing the bed was still beneath me and rolled myself off it to land on the floor with a resounding thud, slamming my shoulder in to the nightstand on the way down. Though we now had inhuman healing abilities, he still found himself sleeping on the couch for two nights after that stunt. We all decided Omega would be in charge of distracting our future opponents with his illusions while the rest of us took them out before they could recover. It sounded good in theory.

The power Earth enjoyed the most manipulated himself rather than his opponent. As it turned out, he was excellent at changing shape. Since he was small to begin with, we planned for him to transform into something incredibly tiny so he could scout ahead for us. We had been practicing communicating telepathically as well, lessening our chances to being caught in a compromising situation. This way Earth could ‘radio’ back to us when he found something important without broadcasting our intentions.

On top of sharpening our magic abilities, we were also given lessons in weapons training (despite Imperator’s harsh criticism before). It was especially difficult for me because I didn’t have the muscle memory the way the guys did when it came to wielding physical weapons. I had undergone some Keeper training when I first joined but I was always meant to be backup support, never combat ready. I was grateful for the extra Ghoul strength I’d been given, because picking up a real sword as a regular human probably would have been nigh impossible. The others worked on proper form and reacting to threats while I learned the basics. It would take me far longer to become proficient with my regular ol’ sword but I made enough progress to strap the thing to my back when we were ready to go.

Air hadn’t revealed the location where Mercury and Co. were being kept but he said the path to them would be well guarded and fairly treacherous. It made me apprehensive, his not telling us exactly where we’d be going, but I had no choice but to trust it was someplace we could make it back from. I seriously doubted he would be fine with Mist coming with us if we were all going to die horribly. He _had_ made it clear that she was the only reason he was helping but I didn’t hold it against him; I didn’t want to let the _Tria Prima_ loose on humanity either.

The day finally arrived when we were to meet with The Flying Fox. We didn’t exactly schedule an appointment but Sister Imperator’s knowledge of our upcoming quest meant he knew we were going to show up on his doorstep sooner rather than later. I expected to meet some resistance from Imperator on our last day of training but she simply wished us luck and requested to stick around the Main House for a few more days, so she could explore the town nearby. I never would have pegged her as the “antiquing” type.

Only three of us would be going to the meeting, ensuring there weren’t too many cooks in the kitchen. Air was adamant he go. It made sense, since he was the oldest of all of us, had the most experience with this sort of situation, and he really wanted to grill Niels about his plans for the deadly trio. I sincerely hoped Niels would have a good enough excuse for wanting those beaky boys because I had a feeling if he didn’t, we would not be retrieving them from captivity. Alpha would also be going, as he was the one on the friendliest terms with Niels whenever they happened to meet. Usually a lot of liquor was involved and I hoped I could keep them both sober while negotiations took place. He was also one of the Ghouls who was pissed at Papa for all his meddlesome behavior and could give Niels a good reason for jumping through all these hoops.

Of course I was going. I was anxious to meet this mysterious almost ordinary man, and I was probably the only one who could be neutral. Air and Alpha were connected to Ghost and Papa, the source of Niels’ anger, so if things went south I could try to throw down as a Keeper and an agent of Lucifer. This deal was going to be made come hell or high water and I felt confident between the three of us we would walk away knowing Niels would give us the information we needed once we gave into his request.

* * *

 

 

“This is…exactly what I expected actually.” I stared at the tiny apartment we popped into. We stood near the doorway out of politeness, even though we were pretty much breaking in. Very little furniture sat in the living area, replaced with music instruments and sound equipment. A quality studio setup dominated one entire wall, while a gamer’s paradise of monitors and tech overtook another. Through the open doorway next to us we could see a small but well-kept kitchen, and if we ventured further inside the living space we’d probably find the doors leading to the bedroom and the bathroom. I knew guys who lived much like Niels – he’d probably lived here forever and would most likely die here.

I was about to ask how long we should wait when Air opened his mouth, booming in an amplified voice, “ **FOX**.”  

I winced as the fragile equipment around us shook from the power in his tone; even the walls shook.

A tall, lanky creature with a mop of fluffy ginger hair entered my view, blinking as though we’d interrupted his afternoon nap. “Dude. Chill with the yelling, I’m right here.”

He had on a plain white t-shirt and crusty looking sweatpants, three days worth of scruff covering his face. Flopping down in the chair in front of his computers, he spun it to face us and waved a dismissive hand. “Sit, sit. We all know why you’re here.”

Three chairs sprouted from the floor in front of us and we sat. He glanced at Air, then Alpha, and then landed on me. “You’re new.”

I put on my best kiss-ass face as I replied, “Yeah, I’m El-"

“You’re Ellie. Can I call you Ellie?” He pulled a banana out of thin air and peeled it, his gaze intense.

It was good to know no matter how much power they might possess, nerds were still awkward as fuck in social situations.

I nodded and he began eating his snack just as the biggest dog I’d ever seen in my entire life waltzed out of one of the other rooms. Black with a luminous strip of silver running down its spine and the size of a small horse, it glared menacingly at us as it parked itself next to its master’s feet. Judging by the human intelligence swimming in its inky eyes, I instinctively knew messing with this animal would end badly – for us.

“El-Ellie is fine.” I gulped audibly. Alpha leaned over and nudged my shoulder, his whisper exaggerated as he said, “You really need to work on your poker face.”

I flushed scarlet but Air cleared his throat, demanding attention. “You know why we’re here, Fox. Before we proceed, I need to know what you’re planning for the _Tria Prima_.”

Niels steepled his fingers together in a pyramid, a frown creasing his brow. “Why is that any business of yours, Snake?”

Air’s temper got the better of him and his eyes flashed dangerously. “You know damn well why, dirty little ferret. I won’t let you unleash those monsters on the world again.”

Niels barked out a laugh, his nose wiggling in a very fox-like manner. “Man, why does everyone assume the bad guy wants to take over the world and destroy it? I gotta live here too man.”

I laid a hand on Air’s arm but I knew if he didn’t want to behave I certainly held no sway over him to get to him to stop. I wanted to explain our position but Alpha surprised me by speaking up next.

“Dude, cut the shit. There’s not much else you can do with these guys besides go on a rampage. You think you’ll be safe from everything you’ve pissed off when you start murdering people?”

It was less diplomatically phrased than I liked but Alpha’s argument was sound. No one would care how valuable The Flying Fox was if he overstepped his bounds.

The Fox didn’t seem terribly worried about this line of logic and laughed openly, eyes rolling dramatically. “You don’t know jack shit about the state of the world, Alpha. You’re nothing but a douche bro who hides behind a mask.”

Alpha’s hands clenched into fists at the insult but he stayed seated.

“I _see_ things. I _know_ things. None of you might see the need to bring Mercury and the other two back _but I can_.” Sister Imperator hadn’t mentioned clairvoyance as part of his power, though it was possible she didn’t know.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Niels looked truly disturbed now. His teeth ground together as he danced around my question, “I can’t tell you everything. Timelines and all that Doctor Who bullshit, you know?” He glanced away. “Something bad is coming and The Puppet Master is a necessary evil for that fight. I can contain him – his three minions are harmless without his destructive thoughts flooding their empty heads. You have to trust me on this one.”

I turned to Air to wait for his reply. His glare matched the one the dog was still giving us, and then suddenly he melted away, leaving his chair empty.

“I…I believe he agrees with you. Or at least that’s what I’m going to assume.” I tried to sound business-like. “Here’s the deal – we get back Mercury, Salt and Sulpher, and you tell me where Papa’s book of power is.”

Niels cocked his head at me uncertainly. “You don’t want me to just give it you?”

I smiled. “That would be nice but somehow I feel like you’d decline. And my guess is since most of the other supernatural heavy weights aren’t allowed to touch that book without getting their asses handed to them by the angels, you can’t either.” I stood, and gestured at Alpha to do the same.

“No, Niels – may I call you Niels? I think we’ll get the book ourselves. I just need a location. We’ll be back once we have your gimp and his birds.”

I began to channel my energy to leave when Niels said something I didn’t quite hear.

“Excuse me?”

He smirked knowingly. “I said, take plenty of sunscreen with you to Hell. It’s hot down there.”

Alpha dug a finger into his ear as though he hadn’t heard right. “Come again? What’s this about Hell?”

“Figures.” He hooted with glee at our confusion. “Didn’t Snake Man tell you? The _Tria Prima_ ’s void space is located in the lowest circle of Hell.”


	13. Here's to hoping no one imagines Zardoz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya!   
> I'm finally back. All the drama has seriously soured me on the current Ghost lineup and it really ate away at my will to write, but dammit I've got a story to tell and I'm not giving up these boys until it's finished! There's maybe only one or two more chapters left in store for this story, and then I'll start the third and final installment. It'll be called 'Tell That Devil To Take You Back' and I'm stupidly excited to write it because I've had the ending in my head since I finished Never A Dull Moment. I have an epically cheesy "Necropolis" lyric joke to make.
> 
> This chapter is extra ridiculously long to make up for being gone so long.

“This is fifty shades of horseshit.” I muttered under my breath, scowling at the door before me. We stood in the basement of an abandoned warehouse in Chicago. There had to be some kind of joke there, one of the entrances to Hell residing in Velvet City, but I didn't know how to phrase it yet. Glancing back at the others, I couldn’t help but ask once again, “ _Why_ is the _Tria Prima_ located in treachery again? Wouldn’t violence or wrath make much more sense?”

Air matched my scowl with one of his own, most likely sick of my incessant queries after returning from speaking with The Fox. Alpha and I were more than floored when he told us where exactly we’d be jaunting off to to retrieve his prized pets.

“As I have explained,” Air huffed irritably, “it was merely the most convenient place to store them. Hell is not an absolute structure; The work of Dante does not truly reflect what we are about to find. The lowest circle is merely the farthest away from the entrance, making it more difficult for them to escape if they happen to breach the void.” He drew himself up to his full height. “But if I had to theorize I could say they are the creatures that make up all matter. It should not be their mission to destroy, but to grow. They are controlled by another being and he betrayed their very essence by forcing them to down a path of chaos and destruction. Their actions may have been violent but it is not entirely ingrained in their nature.”

The latter part of his explanation was new. It was difficult getting Air to guess in general, let alone guessing about something as sensitive as this.

Earth shoved his way past the others to stand next to me. “So if Hell isn’t like Dante imagined, what’re we going to find?” He would need to know if he was going to be leading the pack and reporting back to us.

“We will not be entering the domain of a specific entity. If we were, the environment would be more or less static. This,” He nodded at the door, “is the entrance to the main…torture chamber, if you will. It is designed to play upon the fears of those who enter by accident or by force as we are about to do. It would be best if you try to keep your minds clear of as many intrusive thoughts as possible as we traverse the realm.”

From somewhere behind me, Water snickered and intoned, “There is no Dana, only Zuul.”

“Aw dammit Water! If the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man shows up I’m chaining your ass to a wall as a sacrifice.”

“Stop talking about it!” Alpha clapped an open hand against Water’s shoulder. “Shit. This is the wrong group to do this with. We’re going to end up in the middle of _Zardoz_.”

“How is that a fear?”

“Sean Connory in that red speedo doesn’t scare the hell out of you?”

“Point taken.”

Air’s scowl had grown to a full blown murderous glare as we squabbled and Mist rubbed his arm supportively, though it didn’t appear to ease his frustration. “I know you’re apprehensive about this but you could at least try to take it seriously.” She reprimanded us firmly, with a ‘mom’ look that had us clearing our throats and fidgeting in guilt.

“Uh, should Earth go first?” I asked, desperate to change the subject.

“No.” Air responded through gritted teeth, as though he were trying to calm down but couldn’t get there fast enough. “We go in together, otherwise we may end up in different realms.”

“Well, time’s wasting away then.” Alpha shrugged and walked to the entrance. He placed a hand on the knob and looked back at us. “No sense in putting off the inevitable.” 

* * *

 

“Ho-Lee Fuck.” I wasn’t sure which of us spoke those words because they aptly described what we all felt as we entered Hell.

“Does it always look like this?” I wondered aloud.

Air gave a hard shake of his head. “No. One of you did a poor job keeping your mind free.”

It looked as though we had stepped in to the sewers of a long forgotten city. The walls were a combination of stone and dirt, the floors broken bits of cobblestone destroyed by plant life and the shifting of earth over time. Though it smelled of nothing but damp soil, some sort of soupy green mess oozed down the walls and left shallow puddles all around the main chamber. Random bits of debris littered the room – shards of pots and urns, half rotted wooden crates and chests and a few piles of what could have molded hay. Three large doorways presented us with a challenge as none of them indicated which would lead in the right direction.

Alpha gazed around the room in awe, exclaiming, “Does this remind anyone of Diablo?”

I chuckled. “More like Path of Exile.”

“Oh, like they aren’t the same game.” Water said as he neared the doorway to our right.

Omega hung back and surveyed our surroundings with suspicion. “How’re we going to find the right level now? I don’t exactly see any signs posted.”

Mist kicked over part of a broken urn with the toe of her boot and replied, “I don’t think we need to worry about the levels at this point. If this is modeled after a game,” she stared rather pointedly at Alpha, Water and I before continuing, “then chances are it’s going to be that way in every respect. Do these games have a strategy?”

“Yeah, it’s called using Google.” I snorted cynically.

Air bared his teeth at me and I threw up my hands in surrender. “I only mean if someone else hasn’t told you how to beat them, you kinda just have to go down every path. Unless one of you has a Mercury-leaning spidey sense we’re shit outta luck.”

“You’re very positive today, Ellie.” Alpha quipped as he peeked around the corner of the doorway to the left of us. “I don’t know, this looks like as good a place to start as any. Earth?”

Earth nodded once and magic flared around us as he began to change his shape, shrinking down until he was nothing more than an ordinary gray rat scurrying around on the floor. We’d talked about him going in as something even smaller (probably a bug) but he’d assessed the situation well enough to know a rat wouldn’t be viewed as out of the ordinary in a place like this. He scuttled away down the path Alpha indicated and we readied our weapons while waiting for his signal.

Air faced us, looking as grim as I’d ever seen him. “What can we expect from an environment such as this?”

I quickly cycled through various stages of the games. It was impossible to tell which one someone in the group had gone for but Water was right – they were incredibly similar.

“Most likely we’ll see some zombies, big bugs, snake people, skeletons, and possibly some ghosts or giant bats. Oh! And some goat men - goat men are my favorite. You know, just vaguely scary generic monsters. Plus, wherever the _Tria Prima_ resides it’s sure to be guarded by one scary ass boss.”

“What do we need to prepare?”

Water offered his opinion with a sardonic laugh. “Kiss our butts goodbye? This will be about fighting our way through mobs of creatures with powers we won’t know about until their spewing them in our faces. You guys are hellspawn,” he gestured to Mist and Air, “but who knows if we’ll even survive five minutes.”

Alpha came back from poking around the other hallways and sighed. “And here I thought Ellie was a negative Nancy.”

“Shut up, Alpha. You know I’m right.”

“I do. Doesn’t mean I’m happy about it.”

The pounding of footsteps broke up their argument and we swung to meet whatever might be coming.

Earth shot through the door like the hounds of hell were chasing him, skidding to a stop next to Omega. “Zombies. A lot of them.” He waved his arms around frantically, trying to get his words out in the correct order. “Somehow they sensed me – I don’t think what we planned will work for this place. They’re coming.”

As the last word left his mouth, moans and grunts echoed through the dark doorway.

I pulled my sword from its sheath and barked, “Save the tricks for later. Nothing fancy! Just cut them down.” Air and Mist drew swords similar to mine; I was surprised they would take orders from me but then realized it was probably because they too didn’t know how their magic would react here.

My thoughts were quickly pushed aside as our zombies came shambling into view.

Here's the funny thing about movies and video games; everything looks like it would be fun to experience in real life but you also know you never have to worry about that happening so fantasizing is relatively harmless. Hordes look neat on a small computer screen. They look average. Easy to beat.

Not so much in this situation.

Though these gave off the impression of run of the mill creatures of the undead, there were still A LOT of them. They crowded the doorway to the point where they created a traffic jam and I heard a few of the guys laugh in surprise. Instead of looking human their appearance more closely resembled the pirates from the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, when moonlight would expose their tattered, blackened flesh in all its decaying glory. Clothes might have once been a part of the ensemble but there wasn’t much left to really cover.

An arrow thunked in to the chest of the lead zombie, shaking us from our frozen positions.

Omega and Alpha barreled forward (he-men that they are) and began the typical tanking hack and slash maneuver. Heads exploded as Earth’s arrows found their squishy targets but the horde still managed to break past the door to surround us. We fell into a back to back formation and sliced away at rotting flesh: hands fell away to the ground, torsos slid apart like butter, heads rolled in every direction. They didn’t wait in a line to attack the way they always did when Hollywood animates them but they were slow enough that we could take down two or three at a time without worrying.

Time stretched on as the zombies kept coming and it felt like the creatures were multiplying instead of dwindling. Finally, _finally_   we broke down the tide and Water lopped the last zombie in half with his twin blades.

“That was FUN!” Alpha whooped excitedly, high fiving Earth hard enough to cause him to stumble slightly.

We were surrounded by body parts, a literal mountain we had to climb over so we could start down the hallway at last. Air took the lead with Mist hot on his heels, the rest of us grouping up behind them so we could cover all angles. The halls were dark but blue-hued orbs of light hung suspended in midair near the ceiling. They gave us just enough illumination to see into the rooms we passed as we followed the path; most rooms were empty or had tables and chairs tucked away into corners, but some had bars or doors to hold something in. Air didn’t want to waste time fighting every single bad guy we came across so we left the monsters snug in their tiny prisons.

Earth was right about one thing: even if the monsters couldn’t see us through their doors, they could indeed sense us, and threw themselves manically at the wood separating them from us.

As we traversed the path we occasionally ran in to one or two stray creatures: a zombie here, two small ugly frog people that resembled murlocs there, a skeleton that fell apart as soon as Omega kicked it in the rib-cage. No goat men yet.

The group was nearing a relaxed state the longer we traveled; this was almost too easy. We came to another fork in the walkway but apparently Air was getting impatient with the pace we kept because he simply kept moving forward, not even stopping to discuss options with everyone else.

No one protested.

Clicking noises reached our ears and hissing filled the claustrophobia-inducing hallway. The walls here were in even worse disrepair than the rest of the place and the floor was nothing but hard packed dirt. There was a small hill we would need to climb before we could see what challenge next awaited us and Earth belly-crawled his way through the grime to carefully peer over the incline. Whatever he saw he must not have enjoyed because he slid back down to where we waited like he was on fire.

“Urgghhh there are like, a hundred big fucking spiders in there!” He glanced up at Air, annoyance plain on his face. “Next time we _all_ decide which way to go.”

I cleared my throat to gain their attention. “Maybe this would be a good time to see what powers will work here? They’re spiders; I doubt they have all that much fight in them. If something goes wrong we can still wipe them out with weapons.”

Omega and Water were nodding as I spoke, but Air, Mist and Earth looked skeptical. Alpha- I turned to get his opinion and of course found him missing.

“Ah hell.” Omega cursed in a low tone and we spun to see what caused him to swear. 

Alpha stood at the top of the hill, in plain view of the room below, a bright ball of flame dancing happily in the palm of his hand.

“I agree.” he shouted down to us, making no effort to keep his voice quiet, “What’s the worst that could happen?” 

Did you know if you hit something that moves quickly and is the size of a large dog with a ball of flame it will not die instantly, but run around in a panic and attempt to attack anything moving?

That’s how we ended up in a cavernous room full of a hundred flaming spiders.

Luckily Alpha had the wherewithal to use his special talent (explosions) to pop their long spindly legs from their bodies while the rest of us hit them with short bursts of water we conjured. Our abilities seemed to work just fine in this instance and Air concluded Hell was merely attuned to outsiders and our powers were not faulty. We also found the room holding the spiders was a dead end.

This mission was beginning to feel tedious. We trudged back to where the path had split for a second time and Earth immediately gravitated to the hallway to our left. “It’ll probably lead us more toward the center of, um, whatever this is.” One shoulder lifted helplessly. “Isn’t the “treasure” usually found in the center?”

I didn’t want to tell him that wasn’t necessarily true in a world such as this but we were all beginning to get grumpy. Whatever got us out of here faster, or had us believing we would get out faster, would have to do for now. At least if we ran in to another dead end we could port back to the very beginning and start over more quickly. I hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

We began moving faster, with less care and made more noise the further along we went. Even Air was so aggravated by our lack of progress he forgot to scold us for our recklessness. Mist was the only one who did not lose her composure but she too kept her admonitions to herself.

This path was nearly identical to the others, with a few minor creatures blocking our way and the same old blue lights illuminating our journey to nothing.

“We should have just split up.” Water grumbled next to me.

I elbowed him slightly, replying, “That would have been stupid and you know it.” I didn’t mean it in a rude way but Water certainly took it that way.

He elbowed me back hard enough to knock me into Omega, who was walking on my other side, prompting Omega to shove me forward so he could grab Water by the arm in retaliation. “What the fuck was that about?”

Water’s usually serene face was contorted with uncharacteristic fury and he shoved his much smaller body into Omega’s space. “No one calls me stupid!”

I turned on my heel so I could walk backward and still face Water. “That’s not how I meant it, idiot! What’s gotten into you?”

“Yeah man,” Earth chimed in, “get that stick out of your ass. Or is that your girlfriends hand jammed up there, now that you’re her puppet?”

Whoa.

Water charged at Earth, who had been walking in front of us. “Say that to my face! What the fuck does that mean?!”

“I know what it means.” Alpha must have decided he was tired of being ignored and jumped in the verbal fray. “He means you’re choosing to lose your Ghoul powers for some chick. You’re a coward, too afraid to tell her who you really are.”

Omega groaned out a hollow laugh at Alpha’s assessment, disbelief turning his voice into a growl as he said, “That’s rich, coming from you. You want to stop being a Ghoul because of some misguided sense of guilt. Stop playing the victim all the time, Christ.”

I don’t know what possessed me in that moment to add my two cents but I did it without thinking. “You don’t have room to talk either, sweetheart, considering you cut and ran the second things got rough.”

If looks could kill I most assuredly would have been dead.

Thankfully we ended up in another large room that was decorated just ornately enough to distract everyone from the fight. Not so thankfully, we had reached another dead end.

Earth gave a bellow born of frustration and kicked a delicate looking statue across the room where we all watched it shatter against the wall. He rounded on Air and jabbed a finger up at him. “I’m sick of following your lead. How do you not know where we’re supposed to be going?”

Before Air could defend himself, Water slid between the two and postured so Earth would have to step back or risk getting hit. “You chose the path this time, pipsqueak. If you were more competent at spying we might have known sooner which was the right way to go!”

Things were getting decidedly ugly at this point. Alpha joined Water in defense of Air and Omega turned on me, throwing my words about running back in my face as he pointed I did the exact same thing.

“Yeah, only because I was afraid you were going to murder me in my sleep! You were acting like a psychopath!!” We all devolved into screaming incoherently at each other and few weapons were drawn as the arguing became worse.

Air stood to the side, watching everything unfold with a small smile on his face. Mist had her back to everyone and stared at the wall.

Just as we were about to come to physical blows, she threw out a hand and the wall in front of her exploded. The Ghouls and I went flying as the concussion of the blast tossed us around like we were nothing more than feather-light bowling pins. My ears were ringing from the enormous burst of sound and I saw stars from smacking my head against the very solid stone behind us.

My vision wasn't exactly steady as I stared hard at the expanse of space hidden by the wall.

And by ‘expanse of space’ I meant it literally; a black void was just…there, impossible as it should have been. Stars winked in and out of life and at one point I was fairly sure I saw a satellite float peacefully on by.

In the center, with a set of pure white stairs leading up it, floated a steel door. There didn’t seem to be anything behind it or around it. It was just a door.

My mouth gaped dumbly and I sat unmoving until Omega reached down to gently pull me to my feet, one arm settling itself around my waist, our previous fight now forgotten.

Air bent to kiss Mist on the cheek before he placed himself directly in front of the door. He didn’t move to go up the stairs but instead appeared to be concentrating fiercely. His arms were shaking as he set about moving them in complex patterns, strain clearly weighing his shoulders down with each precise stroke. The air in the room became increasingly stuffy, heat pouring from Air's skin as it began to glow bright red. The door matched that shade of red and smoked alarmingly until it began to melt. Drop after drop rolled down the frame to the stairs below, coating them in red hot silver. It looked as though a door had never existed there - just a set of stairs and a weird arched frame in the middle of space. 

Movement from the behind the frame caught our eye and Air finally stepped away to place himself in front of Mist, acting as her shield (though I doubted she needed shielding after taking down an entire wall). 

Salt came first, then Sulpher. Their leather beaky masks creaked ominously as they descending from the stairs and kneeled at the bottom. Their suits were immaculate despite their years of imprisonment.

They didn't even seem to notice us all standing there gaping at them like idiots. 

Mercury appeared in my line of sight and unlike the other two, he definitely noticed us. His purple lips curved upward beneath his spiked mask and he too flowed down the stairs effortlessly. Patting the heads of his friends as he reached the bottom, he made direct eye contact with each one of us. His gaze lingered on Alpha and he took the time to trace the Ghoul's shape with his eyes before moving on to Water, then Earth. 

He finally landed on Air, who immediately straightened and held his hands clenched at his sides, as though he were expecting an attack. 

I don't think any of us were prepared when Mercury threw his arms open and walked the few feet to where Air stood, grabbing him up in what can only be described as a bear hug. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes modeling hell after Diablo and POE is a cop-out but action scenes are hard and take for freakin' ever to write. It's easier to have a base to work with. I promise for the next story I will build some seriously intense battle scenes from scratch.


	14. Fucking Finally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah. It feels good to bring this to a close, FINALLY *last chapter dance* 
> 
> I do still want to finish the entire storyline, I just don't know exactly when that'll be. I should probably work on Natural Order, because I have that one laid out completely. The next (and final) installment here will be infinitely more complicated. Finding time to write is hard when you work 53 hours a week! But finish both I shall, if anyone out there is still reading :)

“Did we stumble into the Twilight Zone instead of Hell?” Earth only half whispered to the rest of us. 

Omega’s grip tightened on my waist as he took in the odd sight and he replied, “You’re not far off.” We watched Mercury squeeze a very bewildered Air tightly before stepping away to grip one of his hands. The two began speaking in low tones, a mix of English and a harsh, grating language flowing quickly between them. It was like watching a tennis match between two Titans; the action was exhilarating but the terror over being potentially squished in the stands was a bit too much. 

I shook my head as we watched the truly bizarre scene unfold. “I haven’t the foggiest idea. Though,” I winked at Alpha conspiratorially, “judging by that look Mercury gave you I don’t think you’d be in any danger.” 

Omega stifled a chuckle and I caught the stain of red bloom on Alpha’s cheeks before he turned away. “Oh my, I don’t hear any protests from our dear Alpha. All that leather gets your motor running?” I teased. As if he could hear our conversation Mercury twisted his head around to stare at us, flashing a mouthful of sharp teeth in a feral grin before returning to his chattering with Air and Mist. 

Water bumped Alpha on the arm with his elbow, voice straining from trying to keep his tone level as he quipped, “Now  _that_  gives a whole new meaning to “watch those teeth”, doesn’t it Brother?” 

We erupted into a horrible fit of giggles as every inch of Alpha’s exposed skin turned crimson – even the tips of his ears. Interesting. 

Our laughter tapered off and we waited patiently for Air and Mist to finish up with Mercury. I was itching to get them back to Niels so we could finally learn the location of Papa’s book, but I realized I and the others had no real way to force the three to leave. Hopefully our Ancients would be able to coax them to help us without a fight.

Air finally motioned us over with a wave and we nearly tripped over each other in our haste to know what was going on. Air’s face was still reflecting some shock as he introduced each of us to Mercury (who gave a very saucy wink when it was Alpha’s turn) and to our surprise we discovered Mercury was actually a…sweetheart? 

“It is wonderful to be among people again. Sulfur and Salt are treasured companions but I have so missed conversation.” He came across as an eager puppy, the air around him vibrating with excitement and hope. “Air and Mist tell me you’ve brought us back to assist you with some important matter?” 

Important was stretching it, especially after Alpha and Omega had pointed out that the reasons behind wanting the book were kind of stupid, but we’d come this far and there was no point in contradicting Mercury at this point.

“We need information.” I explained, deciding quickly just how much I should say. “The person who has the information will give it to us but he needs to…meet with you first. We’re not really sure why but we’d hoped you wouldn’t mind going along.” 

It was a half truth to be sure; I knew Niels wanted the  _Tria Prima_ to use them but I figured they didn’t need to know that yet. 

Mercury was nodding as I spoke. “Air said he is a type of sorcerer?”

Ummm…

“I know him to have some power, yes, but to what extent I’m not sure. Is that important?”

The leather of Mercury’s mask creaked as he gestured to Salt and Sulfur and the two lanky figures rose from the floor to come stand next to their leader. Mercury reached inside a pocket of his suit jacket and withdrew a small glass prism, holding it in his palm so we could see it clearly. 

“Your information broker most likely wishes to use us for his gains but this,” he inclined his head toward the prism twinkling merrily before us, “this is what controls us now. We’ll meet with the sorcerer but you should know we don’t make final decisions.”

I hesitated for a moment, debating how to proceed. “I think- I think the sorcerer would prefer to speak with your Master.” 

Mercury looked as if he were expecting such a response but didn’t say anything else. We all stood in mildly awkward silence until Omega crossed his arms across his chest and asked what we were all wondering.

“So why aren’t you three raining hellfire and damnation all over the place right now?”

In the first indication they had personalities, Salt and Sulfur laughed like Omega had told some great joke. It was disconcerting to hear their wheezy huffs but not be able to see their faces beneath the masks. Mercury’s lips tilted upward in a small smile. “Our Master has not remained dormant since our exile; The Puppet Master is far more powerful than even Hell can imagine. It has It’s own plans.” 

“It?” Curiosity was evident In Mist’s voice. 

Mercury’s eyes became dreamy and his smile widened further as he told us about his master. “Puppet Master is neither he nor she; It is not of this universe, but of galaxies and star showers…”

I did my best not to gag while Mercury continued to wax poetic about his mighty leader, but after five minutes of space talk it was too much.

“So you’re saying your boss has his own plans, yes?” The head of the  _Tria Prima_ looked put out I had stopped his Ode to a Triangle but he answered my question. “Yes, in a sense.” 

Next to Mercury, Salt stirred as if he’d just woken up and realized there were people in the room. “Might we move this conversation to a much more pleasant arena? It’s a bit drab down here.” His voice was deep and smooth and startling clear. There was power there, perhaps even more than Mercury, and I had a feeling these guys didn’t need a Puppet Master to make civilizations fall.

* * *

 

 

Mist and I made our way down the street with Mercury, Salt, and Sulfur in tow. We had taken them out to eat, let them window shop to their enthusiastic delight (even the ever silent Sulfur couldn’t contain his joy), and now we were on our merry way to deliver them to their new keeper. Hopefully The Flying Fox had a place to stash these guys – maybe his tiny apartment was hiding another three bedrooms? 

Eh, I figured he had it covered. 

Mist proposed she and I take the three to Niels; there was no need for seven people to escort the men to their new home, Mist was powerful enough to keep them in line, and it was better if only a few of us knew the location of Papa’s book once we had it. There was always a chance the book would disappear if Papa got a whiff of where it was before we could snag it. Mist was also the only one who could read the damn thing so it made sense she tag along to make sure Niels didn’t sell us a pile of horse manure. The others weren’t thrilled with the arrangement but in the end agreed it was for the best. 

We made it to the desired building and wound our way up the stairs to stand on Niels’ doorstep, where he practically ripped the door off the hinges to let us all inside. His energy was electric and whatever he was feeling made itself apparent in the tiny purple sparks dancing along his skin. Yikes. 

“I can’t believe you made it out alive!” Niels exclaimed as he practically bowed before Mercury, his comment addressed to Mist and I. 

I shrugged casually. “No big deal. We did train for this. With Imperator. There was no way we were going to fail after getting chased by dragons for a week.”

He chuckled and magicked up a few extra chairs for everyone to sit on, crowding his living room even more than usual. Plunking himself down on the couch, he got down to brass tacks.

"So tell me how I can speak to your master."

Mist shot the boy a glare and growled (much like her husband), "Gods Niels, show some respect. They could obliterate you in the blink of an eye." 

Instead of looking properly cowed, Niels glared back, but eventually did bite out a grudging "Please." 

Mercury clucked in dismissal. "Master speaks when he wants to. We cannot compel him." Disappointment flooded the room and I shivered against it; whatever power I had was nothing compared to the five others around me. It was a humbling experience.

Mercury caught our attention once more as he leaned forward, his fingers steepled against his chin. "However...I am well within my rights as the Master's conduit to offer you access to It." He produced the prism from his super-secret jacket pocket and held it out for Niels to take. The skinny wizard extraordinaire had a rough time keeping his eyes from bugging out of his head as he all but snatched the glittering ornament from Mercury's palm.  

"You're sure?" He eyes were fevered as he cuddled it to his chest. "You're certain I can contact It this way?"

Mercury, Salt, and Sulfur nodded simultaneously. 

Mist looked shaken. "You knew." Her face was nearly bloodless as she thought it through. "You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?"

Mercury merely smiled his small smile and said nothing. Oh yeah, they definitely knew. I coughed loudly, suddenly eager to get the hell away from this very normal Swedish apartment and it's not-so-normal inhabitants. 

"Ah, so a deal's a deal. You have the location of the book?" I had to repeat myself twice before Niels stopped petting his precious rock to respond. 

"Yeah yeah yeah. You've already read it." 

I reeled back slightly. "What in the devil are you talking about? I think I'd notice a book I can't read."

By this point Niels was holding the prism up to the light, shaking it about as though he were trying to make the Puppet Master manifest itself like a ghost in a snow globe from hell. 

"The library, Ellie. Think about it. When did this all start going downhill? There was a very specific night where thing began to change in Ghoulville. What book did you read that night? So harmless, just an idle passing." He stood abruptly. "Okay, I filled my end of the deal. Take your new pets and go." 

Mist raised an eyebrow at his words and held out her hand to halt him before he could disappear in to his room. "Wait just a moment, Fox. What do you mean, 'take them'?" 

Niels briefly muttered under his breath, then replied loud enough for us all to hear, "I said take them. I only need the Master."

Mercury turned to Mist and I without concern. "This is how it's meant to be. We shall stay in your main house, yes? We don't require much space." 

I was still stunned by the revelation that I had somehow read this mysterious book half the world was in an uproar over. 

We ported out of the apartment to just outside the wards of the land. I made a beeline to the library, thankfully not passing anyone along the way who might ask questions. The door creaked open as I pushed against it and I gave the room an assessing glance. It looked no different than how I'd last left it. Books were still stacked in piles around the room, evidence of my decline into madness in such a short time. The last time I had been here was accidental – the night where I'd gone to sleep upstairs but had woken up at a table here, a book stuck to my cheek as though I'd fallen asleep while reading. 

Shit. 

That was it. The book! I didn't even know it's actual name but there it lay on the table where I had dropped it. 

With a shaking hand, I reached out and gripped it carefully. It hadn't done anything special before but maybe now that I knew it's real purpose it might, I don't know, sprout teeth and shred me to pieces. 

Ever so carefully I thumbed open the cover to the first page to find Alpha's name still scrawled there, just as graceful as the first time I flipped through it while waiting for Omega to come play in the library with me. 

The contents of the book hadn't changed. It was still a trashy romance novel. 

A noise shook me from my revere and I turned to see Mist standing in the doorway, her face still just as pale as it had been when she realized we'd been played by Mercury and company. 

"I found it." I whispered. Her eyes met mine and she nodded slightly before moving closer. "Can you read it? Does it look different to you? I can't see anything but a regular book." 

She took it from my hand and went rigid. Her entire body stiffened as though she was paralyzed and I reached out to take the book back but stopped when her voice echoed through the room. "NO." 

I backed up just as she began to glow, the hand holding the book trembling like it took great effort to hold it. A soul-tearing roar shook the walls and floor, and terror sank deep under my skin as I realized it came from the book. Suddenly this seemed like a  _really_ bad idea. 

"Mist? Mist, put it down. It isn't worth it." I advanced on her once more, determined to take it back no matter what she had to say. 

Before I could raise my arm Mist came back to life in a rush. Her shockingly strong punch caught me off guard so much that I went airborne and smacked into the mantle above the fireplace. Several bones in my back crunched sickeningly but I felt no pain; Mist had one heck of a right hook and the room was spinning in several different directions.

She ran to me and knelt next to my dazed form. "Oh Ellie. I'm sorry. I can't – there's no time to explain." She looked around like the hounds of hell were on her tail. "Please understand. What I did...if I had known." Her words died in her throat as she backed away from me. "Tell Air I love him." 

Then she dissolved into nothingness. 

Not a moment later the  _Tria Prima_ , my five Ghouls, and Papa himself burst into the room. Right on time, as always. 

Papa was first to reach me and squeezed my shoulders to the point of pain. " _I_ _felt it! Where is my book?!"_ If I had been in my right mind I would have been scared to death of the crazed expression contorting his face. 

As blackness dragged me under, I managed a few words. 

"Mist took it. She's gone."


End file.
